This book describes the discovery of quasicrystals (icosahedral and decagonal) in an extraterrestrial rock from the Koryak Mountains of Far Eastern Russia. After a decade-long search for a natural quasicrystal, this discovery opened a new avenue in mineralogy and crystallography that could lead to further discoveries in geoscience, astronomy, condensed matter physics, and materials engineering. For the first time, minerals have been discovered that violate the symmetry restrictions of conv...

This volume celebrates mineral sciences and what are considered the most important progresses and breakthroughs in this discipline. Authoritative authors, who, in most cases, are the direct discoverers recount the steps of their research, which represent landmark developments of mineralogy and mineralogical crystallography.

This book provides an analysis of an actual problem of the evolution of deep matter under the conditions of the upper mantle, transition zone, and uppermost lower mantle. This issue has a fundamental importance in geochemistry, petrology, mineralogy, and crystalochemistry of the mantle, at different depths. The authors discuss new experimental research on the composition and conditions of the chromium-bearing minerals genesis and their associations in the Earth’s mantle. The experimental d...

Examines in a pedagogical way all pertinent molecular and macroscopic processes that govern the distribution and fate of organic chemicals in the environment and provides simple modeling tools to quantitatively describe these processes and their interplay in a given environmental systemTreats fundamental aspects of chemistry, physics, and mathematical modeling as applied to environmentally relevant problems, and gives a state of the art account of the fieldTeaches t...

Understanding and utilizing the interactions between environment and nanoscale materials is a new way to resolve the increasingly challenging environmental issues we are facing and will continue to face. Environanotechnology is the nanoscale technology developed for monitoring the quality of the environment, treating water and wastewater, as well as controlling air pollutants. Therefore, the applications of nanotechnology in environmental engineering have been of great interest to many fie...

The first edition of the Handbook of Clay Science published in 2006 assembled the scattered literature on the varied and diverse aspects that make up the discipline of clay science. The topics covered range from the fundamental structures (including textures) and properties of clays and clay minerals, through their environmental, health and industrial applications, to their analysis and characterization by modern instrumental techniques. Also included are the clay-microbe interaction, laye...

The first general texts on clay mineralogy and the practical applications of clay, written by R.E. Grim, were published some 40-50 years ago. Since then, a vast literature has accumulated but this information is scattered and not always accessible. The Handbook of Clay Science aims at assembling the scattered literature on the varied and diverse aspects that make up the discipline of clay science. The topics covered range from the fundamental structures (including textures) and properties ...

This book provides a detailed examination of the concentration, form and cycling of trace metals and metalloids through the aquatic biosphere, and has sections dealing with the atmosphere, the ocean, lakes and rivers. It discusses exchanges at the water interface (air/water and sediment/water) and the major drivers of the cycling, concentration and form of trace metals in aquatic systems. The initial chapters focus on the fundamental principles and modelling approaches needed to understand...

Devoted to exploring questions about the origin and evolution of life in our Universe, this highly interdisciplinary book brings together a broad array of scientists. Thirty chapters assembled in eight major sections convey the knowledge accumulated and the richness of the debates generated by this challenging theme. The text explores the latest research on the conditions and processes that led to the emergence of life on Earth and, by extension, perhaps on other planetary bodies. Diverse ...

Applications of radioactive and stable isotopes have revolutionized our understanding of the Earth and near-earth surface processes. The utility of the isotopes are ever-increasing and our sole focus is to bring out the applications of these isotopes as tracers and chronometers to a wider audience so that they can be used as powerful tools to solve environmental problems. New developments in this field remain mostly in peer-reviewed journal articles and hence our goal is to synthesize thes...

In contrast to the classical books which largely focus on separate, individual physicochemical and biological aspects, this book aims to integrate the frontiers of knowledge on the fundamentals and the impact of physicochemical and biological interactions and processes of AOCs in soil, sediment, water and air. The specific objectives of this book are to address: (1) fundamental biophysico-chemical processes of AOCs in the environment, (2) occurrence and distribution of AOCs in air, water, ...

Genesis – In The Beginning deals with the origin and diversity of Life and early biological evolution and discusses the question of where (hot or cold sources) and when the beginning of Life took place. Among the sections are chapters dealing with prebiotic chemical processes and considering self-replication of polymers in mineral habitats. One chapter is dedicated to the photobiological regime on early Earth and the emergence of Life. This volume covers the role of symmet...