Environmental geochemistry — A holistic approach

168 perature Mineral--Water Interactions by S.M. Savin, 44 pp.; (9) The Isotopic Composition of Reduced Organic Carbon by P. Deines, 77 pp.; (10) Nitrogen15 in the Natural Environment by R. L~tolle, 26 pp.; (11) Sulphur Isotopes in our Environment by H.R. Krouse, 36 pp.; (12) Environmental Isotopes as Environmental and Climatological Indicators by B. Buchardt and P. Fritz, 31 pp. There is a references index and the subject index looks adequate. The multi-authorship is reflected in a slight overlapping of material between chapters and an uneven style. One hesitates to criticize the odd turns of phrase and grammatical infelicities in chapters written by persons for whom English is a foreign tongue. However, the mixing of English with American spelling, such as sulphate with sulfate and vapour with vapor could well be avoided. For its size, there are remarkably few typographical errors, the text is clearly printed on good quality paper; the diagrams and figures are well reproduced and pertinent. In summary, this is a worthwhile volume containing valuable information for all who are interested in the field. It sets a high standard for the editors to follow in succeeding volumes of the series. The price tag is not designed for individual budgets; geochemistry libraries, however, would be the poorer off without a copy. BENNY K.G. THENG (Lower Hutt)

Environmental Geochemistry - - A Holistic Approach. John A.C. Fortescue. Ecological Studies, 35. Springer-Verlag, Berlin--Heidelberg--New York, N.Y., 1980, xvii + 347 pp., 131 figs., DM 69.00/ca. US $ 40.80 (cloth). This is no ordinary geochemical text-book. The author is of the opinion that much of the current work in environmental geochemistry (in its widest sense) is overly fragmented, and that a return is required to a more general approach to the movement of a wide range of chemical entities through all parts of the environment. He sees systems model simulation as the ultimate goal in both the fundamental and applied fields, with particular applications in environmental management, pollution assessment and control, and exploration geochemistry. In order to provide a framework for such a holistic approach, much of the book is concerned with the establishment of the discipline of landscape geochemistry. It is presented as being based upon seven interrelated precepts and concepts: element abundance, and migration; geochemical flows, gradients, and barriers, historical geochemistry; and geochemical classification of landscapes. The author relies heavily upon Russian literature for the presentation and discussion of these and other concepts; indeed an aim of the book is to summarize much of this work in a readily appreciated form. The author continues by demonstrating how a wide range of environmental geochemical studies may be considered in terms of the general concepts he has

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presented, and concludes by suggesting ways in which the discipline of landscape geochemistry could be developed, and of its profitable application to current problems. The author has attempted to make a comprehensive and methodical presentation of landscape geochemistry. As a result it is by no means light reading, and, in places, seems over-written. Perhaps to some extent this is due to the extensive use of direct quotations from the literature, particularly early in the book. The author clearly points o u t that the subject is in its infancy, requiring considerable development of its fundamentals; a point well exemplified b y the intellectually unsatisfying section on the difficult problem of geochemical classification of landscapes. At the current "state of the art" I felt that whilst the approach made a distinct contribution to many studies, it rarely resulted in the hoped for clear holistic synthesis. The appreciation of much of the b o o k required a somewhat philosophical turn of mind, and therefore provided for me a contrast to everyday problems. I hope that the book is widely read and results in a refining of the approach described and its use as a practical tool as well as a conceptual and descriptive framework, and thereby the discipline m a y increase its influence. The quality of presentation is high, the few printing errors normally obvious, and the price not unreasonable. IAN M. DAVIES (Aberdeen)

E n v i r o n m e n t a l C h e m i s t r y - - T h e E a r t h - - W a t e r F a c t o r y . R.W. Raiswell, P.

Brimblecombe, D.L. Dent and P.S. Liss. Resource and Environmental Sciences Series. Edward Arnold, Publishers, London, 1980, viii + 184 pp., UK £ 4.95 net (binding paper). The b o o k comprises the following five chapters: 1. Introduction; 2. The Atmosphere; 3. The Crust; 4. The Oceans and 5. Formation of Mineral Resources in Sediments. To provide a brief review of the main chemical principles, as used in text, the glossary on atomic structure, chemical bonding, equilibrium, hydrogen bond, thermodynamics, etc.) is added. The Bibliography contains nearly 50 recommended elementary and advanced texts. The Subject Index comprises more than 500 terms. The b o o k contains 2 0 tables and is well-illustrated with 78 figures. In the first chapter: the crust, hydrosphere, atmosphere and the earth--air--water factories are considered. In the following chapters (2, 3 and 4) the atmosphere, crust and ocean are exposed, whereas Chapter 5 is dedicated to the formation of mineral resources in sediments. The b o o k is originated from a short lecture and a practical course, given by the authors to first-year students in the School of Environmental Science, b u t in the present form it is more detailed than the lecture course. The framework of the lecture course and also of the b o o k is the hydrologi-