Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Striking a balance between depth and breadth, this text helps students develop a thorough understanding of the natural processes of environmental chemistry. Guiding us through the chemical composition of the three key environmental systems - the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and terrestrial environment - this text explains the chemical processes which occur within and between each system and how human activity affects these systems.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface to first edition (p. v)
• Preface to fourth edition (p. vi)
• Abbreviations (p. xii)
• Environmental chemistry-a global perspective (p. 1)
• 1 Environmental chemistry (p. 3)
• 1.1 Environmental chemistry (p. 5)
• 1.2 Environmental composition (p. 8)
• 1.3 Chemical processes (p. 10)
• 1.4 Anthropogenic effects (p. 13)
• 1.5 Content of the chapters (p. 15)
• Additional resources (p. 17)
• Part A The Earth's atmosphere (p. 19)
• 2 The Earth's atmosphere (p. 21)
• 2.1 The Earth's atmosphere-the air we breathe (p. 21)
• 2.2 Solar influence on the chemical composition of the atmosphere (p. 25)
• 2.3 Reactions and calculations in atmospheric chemistry (p. 28)
• Additional resources (p. 41)
• Problems (p. 41)
• 3 Stratospheric chemistry-ozone (p. 43)
• 3.1 Stratospheric ozone and its relation to Earth processes (p. 43)
• 3.2 Oxygen-only chemistry-formation and turnover of ozone (p. 51)
• 3.3 Processes for catalytic decomposition of ozone (p. 54)
• 3.4 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and related compounds (p. 59)
• 3.5 Kinetic calculations describing catalytic ozone destruction (p. 66)
• 3.6 Other reactions involving stratospheric ozone (p. 68)
• 3.7 Antarctic and Arctic 'ozone hole' formation (p. 69)
• Additional resources (p. 72)
• Problems (p. 73)
• 4 Tropospheric chemistry-smog (p. 76)
• 4.1 What is smog? (p. 77)
• 4.2 The chemistry of photochemical smog (p. 79)
• 4.3 Exhaust gases from the internal combustion engine (p. 92)
• Additional resources (p. 105)
• Problems (p. 105)
• 5 Tropospheric chemistry-precipitation (p. 107)
• 5.1 The composition of rain (p. 108)
• 5.2 Atmospheric production and removal of nitric acid (p. 111)
• 5.3 Atmospheric production and removal of sulfuric acid (p. 113)
• 5.4 Acidifying agents in precipitation (p. 120)
• 5.5 Rain, fog, and snow chemistry-similarities and differences (p. 122)
• 5.6 The global picture (p. 125)
• 5.7 Control of anthropogenic nitrogen and sulfur emissions (p. 131)
• Additional resources (p. 134)
• Problems (p. 134)
• 6 Atmospheric aerosols (p. 137)
• 6.1 Sources of aerosols-a closer look (p. 141)
• 6.2 Aerosol concentrations and lifetimes (p. 150)
• 6.3 Air pollution control for particulate emissions (p. 153)
• Additional resources (p. 156)
• Problems (p. 156)
• 7 Chemistry of urban and indoor atmospheres (p. 158)
• 7.1 Pollutants in the urban atmosphere (p. 159)
• 7.2 Indoor air quality (p. 167)
• Additional resources (p. 179)
• Problems (p. 180)
• 8 The chemistry of global climate (p. 182)
• 8.1 Composition of the Earth's atmosphere (p. 183)
• 8.2 Energy balance (p. 184)
• 8.3 The greenhouse gases and aerosols (p. 191)
• 8.4 Energy resources (p. 203)
• 8.5 Greenhouse gases associated with the use of fossil fuels (p. 206)
• 8.6 Sequestration of carbon dioxide (p. 212)
• Additional resources (p. 219)
• Problems (p. 220)
• Part B The hydrosphere (p. 223)
• 9 The hydrosphere (p. 225)
• 9.1 The global distribution of water (p. 225)
• 9.2 Physical and chemical properties of water (p. 231)
• 9.3 Concentration units used for aqueous solutions (p. 237)
• Additional resources (p. 239)
• Problems (p. 240)
• 10 Distribution of species in aquatic systems (p. 242)
• 10.1 Single variable diagrams (p. 243)
• 10.2 Two-variable diagrams-pE / pH diagrams (p. 251)
• 10.3 Measurements of pE (p. 263)
• Additional resources (p. 266)
• Problems (p. 266)
• 11 Gases in water (p. 269)
• 11.1 Simple gases (p. 270)
• 11.2 Gases that react with water (p. 274)
• 11.3 Alkalinity (p. 279)
• Additional resources (p. 287)
• Problems (p. 287)
• 12 Organic matter in water (p. 290)
• 12.1 Origins of organic matter in water (p. 292)
• 12.2 Environmental issues related to aqueous organic matter (p. 294)
• 12.3 Humic material-vital matter in water and soils (p. 295)
• Additional resources (p. 308)
• Problems (p. 308)
• 13 Metals and semi-metals in the hydrosphere (p. 311)
• 13.1 Metals in the aqueous environment (p. 312)
• 13.2 Classification of metals (p. 313)
• 13.3 Types of complexes with metals-metal speciation in the hydrosphere (p. 318)
• 13.4 Three metals-their behaviour in the hydrosphere (p. 330)
• 13.5 Metals associated with suspended matter in water (p. 336)
• Additional resources (p. 338)
• Problems (p. 338)
• 14 Environmental chemistry of colloids and surfaces (p. 339)
• 14.1 Sizes of environmental solid particles (p. 340)
• 14.2 Surface properties of colloidal materials (p. 341)
• 14.3 Quantitative descriptions of adsorption I (p. 348)
• 14.4 Quantitative descriptions of adsorption II (p. 357)
• 14.5 Quantitative descriptions of adsorption III (p. 360)
• 14.6 Colloidal material in the natural environment (p. 367)
• Additional resources (p. 373)
• Problems (p. 373)
• 15 Microbiological processes (p. 376)
• 15.1 Microbiological processes-the carbon cycle (p. 378)
• 15.2 Microbiological processes-the nitrogen cycle (p. 394)
• 15.3 Microbiological processes-the sulfur cycle (p. 400)
• 15.4 Classification of microorganisms (p. 403)
• Additional resources (p. 410)
• Problems (p. 410)
• 16 Water pollution and water treatment chemistry (p. 412)
• 16.1 What is pollution? (p. 412)
• 16.2 Water quality-guidelines, toxicity, and drinking water treatment (p. 415)
• 16.3 Wastewater treatment processes-primary and secondary methods (p. 423)
• 16.4 Wastewater treatment processes-tertiary methods (p. 428)
• 16.5 Advanced microbiological processes (p. 432)
• 16.6 Constructed wetlands (p. 434)
• 16.7 The final products after treatment of wastewater (p. 436)
• Additional resources (p. 437)
• Problems (p. 437)
• Part C The terrestrial environment (p. 439)
• 17 The terrestrial environment (p. 441)
• 17.1 Soil formation (p. 443)
• 17.2 The three-phase complex nature of soil (p. 451)
• 17.3 Soils and ecosystem services (p. 453)
• Additional resources (p. 455)
• Problems (p. 455)
• 18 Soil properties (p. 457)
• 18.1 Physical properties (p. 457)
• 18.2 Chemical properties (p. 461)
• 18.3 Soil profiles (p. 468)
• 18.4 Environmental problems associated with soils (p. 473)
• Additional resources (p. 486)
• Problems (p. 486)
• 19 The chemistry of solid wastes (p. 488)
• 19.1 Solid wastes from mining and metal production (p. 490)
• 19.2 Organic wastes (p. 496)
• 19.3 Mixed urban wastes (p. 506)
• Additional resources (p. 516)
• Problems (p. 516)
• 20 Toxic organic chemicals (p. 519)
• 20.1 Chemical stability of organic compounds (p. 523)
• 20.2 Mobility of organic compounds (p. 538)
• 20.3 Leachability (p. 543)
• Additional resources (p. 547)
• Problems (p. 547)
• 21 The future Earth (p. 550)
• Appendices (p. 557)
• A.l Properties of the Earth (p. 557)
• A.2 Properties of air and water (p. 557)
• A.3 Area, biomass, and productivity of ecosystem types (p. 558)
• B.1 The elements (p. 559)
• B.2 Thermochemical properties of selected elements and compounds (p. 563)
• B.3 Mean bond enthalpies ¿H / kJ mot -1 at 298 K (p. 566)
• B.4 Dissociation constants for acids and bases in aqueous solution at 25°C (p. 567)
• B.5 Standard redox potentials in aqueous solutions (p. 569)
• C.1 Fundamental constants (p. 569)
• C.2 SI prefixes and fundamental geometric relations (p. 570)
• D.1 Visual MINTEQ 3.1 for Windows (p. 570)
• Index (p. 573)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

It has long been recognized that environmental problems are international in scope, but environmental chemistry works published in the US tend to focus mainly on the situation in this country. The more international approach is one of several excellent features in this book. The organization follows a conventional outline, with separate sections on air, water, and terrestrial pollution, but vanLoon (Queen's Univ., Canada) and Duffy (Mount Allison Univ., Canada) use examples from all over the world. There are a number of other valuable features. Like the previous editions of the book (2nd ed., 2004; 1st ed., 2000), there are both end-of-chapter problems and suggested further readings, and these have been revised by the addition of more recent references and additional problems, some of which are Web-based. The authors include a number of interesting case studies and so-called "Fermi questions," i.e., questions that require a combination of available data, "back-of-the-envelope" calculations, and some reader ingenuity. Brief summary statements of the main points are included from time to time in the text. Overall, this is a well-planned presentation, which should be useful either as a textbook or for individual study. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels of students; professionals/practitioners. H. E. Pence SUNY College at Oneonta

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Gary W. vanLoon is Emeritus Professor at the School of Environmental Studies Queen's University, Canada. Stephen J. Duffy is Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Mount Allison University, Canada.