- Email: [email protected]
Mantle metasomatism
0016-7037/W/$3.00
+ .OO
BOOK REVIEWS
Geochemicd Exploration1987 edited by S. E. Jenness. Elsevier, 1989, xx + 491p., US $189.50 (ISBN O-444-87419-4).
the most prospective terrain at the reconnaissance stage ofexploration. Element mobilities and zoning for local and regional exploration programs are important topics in the presentations. For example, in the < 180 pm size fraction of organiorich lake sediments in proximity to Au mineralization, them am elevated Au contents and high contents of associated pathfinder elements (Sb, As, Pb, Cu and Zn). The idea that secondary haloes, developed during late~~tion from vertical subsidence of weathering fronts, affect dispersion was reinforced by a report that showed a halo dispersion order of Ag < Bi < MO < Pb < Au < As. Relative geochemical mobilities in an oxide zone associated with nickel sulfide deposits with platinum group elements in a humid tropical climate were determined as (Rh, Jr) < Ru < Pt < Pd < Cu < Co < Ni. The concept of ore-magmatic systems was evaluated for copper porphyry prospecting in intm~ntinen~ mobil zones and researchers found that regional (B, Bi, As) and local (Sn, MO, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ag, Sb, and other elements) dispemion trends showed haloes in rocks, soils, and stream sediments with a zoning sequence of (Sn, MO, Cu)-(Ag, Pb, Zn)-(As, Bi, Sb). Biogeochemistry was reported as being useful for Au exploration in arid and semi-arid climates in southern California, and the possibility of using geobotanical and biogeochemical exploration for gold in tbe Arctic Alpine belt of Finnish LapIand was evaluated. In addition, results of extensive regional pilot studies for Pt group metals in common plants of northern forests are reported and establish the possibilities and the norms for Pt group metals exploration via vegetation biogeochemistry. This volume presents a wide range of topics and will be useful to exploration geochemists working in the geographic-geologic regimes evaluated by the papers and abstracts. However, the number of papers (three or less) in four of the seven category topics treated is disappointing, and the price of the volume at $189.50 is way out of line and limits its availability to the scientific community. Indeed, I consider the price of the volume outrageous and a disservice to the community the publisher purports to serve (with reasonable economic gain), including university libraries which arc having to be selective in their acquisitions because of increasing costs of books and journals. A member of the Association of Explomtion Ge~hemis~ receives the volumes of the Internationat Geochemical Exploration Symposia as a regular issue of the Journal ofGeo&emical Explorationplus all other issues of the Journol for a cost of$42.50 (to be $50.00 in 1990) annually. This means a saving of $147.50 on the volume reviewed here alone.
GeochemicalExploration 1987 is a compendium of 30 papers (6 in French with English abstracts) and 23 abstracts of presentations made at the 12th International Geochemical Exploration Symposium and the 4th Sym~ium on Methods in Geochemical Prospecting held in Orleans (France), 23-26 April 1987. The topics covered fall into seven categories: (1) Gold, including Late&c Environments (3 papers, 5 abstracts); (2) Exploration in Tropical Terrains (10 papers); (3) Biogeochemistry (3 papers); (4) Exploration using Transported Overburdens (6 papers, 3 abstracts); (5) Analytical Methods/Isotopes (1 paper, 3 abstracts); (6) Data Processing interpretation (3 papers, 5 abstracts); and (7) Rock Geochemistry (4 papers, 7 abstracts). Workshop reports on data processing and an ge~hemi~ exploration in lateritic environments are also included. One-third of the papers deal with various aspects of geochemical exploration for gold. The case. studies presented represent a wide geographic, geologic, climatologic, and geomorphologic range of conditions from regions in North America, South America, Australia, Africa, Europe (including Scandanavia), and the Soviet Union. Notably absent were con~butions from Asian and Central American geochemical explomtionists. Each study is unique in its focus, whether on sample media for a given environment, importance of lithodependence of weathered products on parent rock, processes such as dissolution and reprecip nation in soil systems, mobility of target elements or pathfinder elements under different regimes for environmental conditions, local alteration characteristics related to specific mineralization types, re gional characteristics such as geochemicaf corridors and zoning sequences, generalized exploration models or applications of statistical methods to the definition of anomaly systems. Although case studies dominate the volume, a conceptual paper on generalized exploration models for deeply weathered terrains based on degree of preservation of preexisting profiles formed under humid, tropical climates (between 35”N and 35’S latitudes), and the modifications due to later climatic and tectonic events, and which integrates weathering and erosional histories, is excellently presented and serves to allow a better understanding of many other papers in the volume. A conceptual field-examples paper proposes the “chalcophile corridor concept” for which regional elongated (15 to 30 km wide and 50 to 100 km long) chalcophile element trends inherited from bedrock are imprinted as geochemical patterns in lateritic duricrust materials, but with enhanced dispersion. These trends (for As and Sb, plus sporadic Bi, MO, Ag, Sn, W, Se, or Au) are related to different ore types including gold and base metal sulfide deposits, may be linked to major faults or shear zones, and can be useful in delineating
Dep~r~menlo~Geology George WashingtonUniversity Washington.DC 20052, USA
Mantle Metusomatisrnedited by M. A. Menzies and C. J. Hawkes worth. Academic Press, f987,472p., $49.50 (ISBN 0-12-49108~7).
Frederic R. Siegel
“cryptic metasomatism.” Documentation of the textural associations and ~m~sitions of hydrous, carbonated, or in~m~tible~lementrich minerals in veins or the matrix of ultramatic xenoliths provide evidence for “modal” or “patent” metasomatism. Petrogenetic studies of the products of basaltic volcanism and associated xenolith suites link magma generation and migration at depth to compositional heterogeneity within the upper mantle. One or more of these points of view are seen in the methods employed in the majority of papers in this book. The eleven papers collected in this book are divided into three sections. The first, entitled, “Theoretical and Experimental Foundation,” contains two chapters: “Dynamics of Translithospheric Migration of Metasomatic Fluid and Alkaline Magma, by F. J. Spera; and “Solubility of Major and Trace Elements in Mantle Metasomatic Fluids: Experimental Constraints,” by D. H. Eggler. The second part,
DUR~IVG THELASTI5 YEARS,diverse lines of geochemicrd, geophysical, and petrologic research on uhramahc xenoliths and associated eruptive rocks have led to complex models for the evolution and heterogeneity of the lithospheric mantle. The advent of the international and interdisciplinary Kimberlite Conferences is well-correlated with an increasing enthusiasm for petroiogjc and geochemical studies of ‘mantle rne~~tisrn.~ The term refers to alteration of lithospheric mantle rocks from melt or fluid sources exotic to such rocks, excluding the emplacement and crystallization of melts that iack associated wallrock alteration. Trace element and isotope studies of ultramafic xenoliths (or of xenolithic clinopymxenes) describe the effects of events of geochemical enrichment and depletion, termed by some workers 4x7
4%
Book Reviews
entitled ~‘Me~mati~ and Enrichment in Lithospberic Peridot&es,” containssix papers: “Minemlo~cand Geochemical Evidence for Difr fering Styles of Metasomatism in Spine1 Lhenolite Xenoliths: Enriched Mantle Source of Basalts?” by P. D. Kempton; “‘Characterization of Mantle Metasomatic Fluids in Spine1 Lherzolites and Alkali Clinopyroxenites from the West Eifel and South West Uganda.” by F. E. Lloyd: “Me~matiz~ Harzburgites in Kimberlite and Alkaline Magmas: Enriched Restites and ‘Flushed’ Lherzolites.” by .I. B. Dawson; “Me&somatic and Emicbment Phenomena in Garnet Peridotite Facies Mantle Xenoliths from the Matsoku Kimberhte Pipe, Lesotho,” by B. Harte, P. A. Winterburn, and J. J. Gurney: “Evidence for Mantle Metasomatism in Peridotite Nodules from the Kimberley Pipes, South Africa,” by A. J. Erlank, F. G. Waters, C. J. Hawkesworth, S, E. Haggerty, H. L. Allsopp, R. S. Rickard, and M. Men&s; and “Me~~matic and En~~hment Processes in I~ithosphe~c Peridomes, an Effect of Asthenosphere-Lithosphere Interaction,” by M. Menzies, N. Rogers, A. Tindle, and C. Hawkesworth. The final settion, “Enrichment Processes and Basaltic Volcanism,” contains three papers: “Isotope Variations in Recent Volcanics: A Trace-Element Perspective,” by C. J. Hawkesworth, P. Van Calsteren, N. W. Rogers. and M. A. Menzies; “Source Regions of Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts: Evidence for Enrichment Processes,” by A. P. Le Roex: and “The Mantle Source for the Hawaiian Islands: ~onstrail~ts from the Lavas and Ultrama% Inclusions,” by F. A. Frey and M. F. Roden. The breadth of these topics suggests that the volume was in part intended to be an overview of the field. In this light, the first two papers and the last paper in the volume deserve special mention. All three am well-written reviews of complex subjects that pay careful attention to defining problems and marshailing data, and are evidently
aimed at bright graduate students. However, a non-specialist like this reviewer may find some of the six chapters that comprise most of the book (Part II) to be significantly less accessible than those in the other two parts. At least four of the six seem to be technical papers based on the current research of the author(s), intended for fellow specialists. When read along with such high-level presentations of the petrology and geochemistry of selected suites of ultramafic xenoliths, the more general review papers (despite their ii~d~~idualand collective good qualities) Seem a bit out of place. This dissonance was probably unavoidable if the editors intended to assemble a volume of interest both to specialists and to a somewhat more general audience. However, if a better context in which to set the presentation of new material had been provided, it might have been possible to achieve a more reasonable balance between review and research. This could have increased the value of the book to those preparing graduate courses, or to a browsing non-specialist. The distinguish~ editors have assembled a world-class and worldgirdling group of contributors, which guarantees that this volume will be of interest and use to members of the community ofpetrologisa and geochemists studying ultramalic xenoliths, mantle metasomatism, and the origin of alkaline and basaltic magmas. However, because much of the volume is directed toward researchers in this community, its appeal to geochemists and petrologists who are no? conducting research on such topics may be somewhat more timitd
Se@D[ffusion in Electrolyte Solutions by R. Mills and V. M. M. Lobo. Physical Sciences Data 36, Elsevier, 1989, 346p., US $134.25 (ISBN O-444-87288-4)*
one ion in fact are weighted averages for ali the aqueous complexes of that ion in the system at hand, as indicated in a clear and useful 12-page Intr~u~tion that also gives basic equations and summa~zes experimental methods. A feature of this compilation is its price, 134 dollars. One can compare it to a combined price of 28 pounds for the two volumes of Sill&n and Martell’s Stability Constants u~~etu~-~un Complexes ( 1964, I97 I), which have twenty-five times more information than the compilation under review here. In deciding on that price Elsevier cannot ilaim a high publication cost, because the authors themselves naid for oart of it with a subsidy from the Australian National Uniiersity &ess. Efsevier has probabiy long ago written off individual buyers of its books, but neve~hele~. based on a rough #rn~~~~ between cost and benefit, my suggestion is, don’t buy this book. Shouki you need difbrsion coefficient data, look them up for example in Robinson and Stokes’ Electrolyte Solutions, Lerman’s Geochemicul Processes, Berner’s Early Diagenesis, and Gelkers and Helgeson’s &o&m. Co.~m~h~m. Acta F&63-85, or search for them electronically in Chem. Abstracts,
THS ISA CRITICAL COMPILATIONofex~~mental di~usion coefficients of ions, solvents, and a few organic species in binary and ternary electrolyte solutions. The solvents include deuterated, tritiated, and oxygen- IS water, Data for each system are tabulated for a range of concentrations and temperatures (for instance, up to 5-molar and 80°C for NaCI), as available. For most species the values provided refer to 25°C only. The compilation inciudes many sets of di~usion coefficient values obtained by the first author, but, surprisingly, none for the carbonate or bicar~nate ions in aqueous solutions. An appendix lists references to diffusion data that have not been included in these tables (because they were inaccessible to the authors or deemed inaccurate), and another appendix reproduces calculated limiting diffusion coefficients of ions to 1000°C and 5 kb. The layout of the tables is very open, the type is large, and the format to refer to the original references is highly repetitious {for instance, a reference to a paper by Woolf and Wein~~ner is repeated in full twelve times in p. 22-29), so that the total amount of info~ation tabulated (per page and for tbc whole voiume) is low. Bach individual table contains a spare critical assessment of the data and their estimated precision: this is very good. Diffusion-coefficient values that are given for any
Antarctica: Soils, ~earh~rj~g Processes and Environment by I. B. CampbeII and Cl. G. C. Claridge. Elsevier, l987,368p., US $fCl7.25 (ISBN O-444-42784-8). ONE OFTHE MOST commendable aspects of Campbell and &ridge’s book on Antarctic p&o&y is the comprehen~ve treatment of the di&rent components of the natural ecosylstem. The coverage of dimate, geology, and biology not only sets the stage for the discussion on soil distribution and processes that follows, but also provides the reader with up-to-date knowledge of this continent discovered only I50 years ago. Climate and climatic implications in the formation and distribution ofsoilsare properly researched and well interpreted for distinguishing the different moisture regimes. The recognition of
Department of’Minerut Sr’iences, KHN- I I9 National Museum ofNatural Histon Smithsonian lnstituti~~n Washington, DC’ t056ff. 154
Department of Geofog~y fndiana UniverAsitJ Bloomington, IN 4740.5, USA
Sorcna Sorensen
Enrique Merino
these regimes forms the basis for the soil cl~~~t~on proposed by the authors. The other chapters cover biology, weathering (physical and cbemical), soils and soil prop&a, soil distribution, s&a, soil development, and glacial history. The discussion on the felity of the cold-desert ecosystem to human impacts is most timely. information regarding weathering is pettinent but is not as detailed as one would expect. Physical ~sint~tion ofrocks is very common ~rou~out the ice-free areas and, because of the abeence of v~tion, it is quite apparent to an observer. More emphasis should have been placed on the role of unBoaen water in fiuzen rocks and soih and on the effects of drastic temperature excursions which rock surfaces undergo during alternating exposures to sun and shadow.
+ .OO
BOOK REVIEWS
Geochemicd Exploration1987 edited by S. E. Jenness. Elsevier, 1989, xx + 491p., US $189.50 (ISBN O-444-87419-4).
the most prospective terrain at the reconnaissance stage ofexploration. Element mobilities and zoning for local and regional exploration programs are important topics in the presentations. For example, in the < 180 pm size fraction of organiorich lake sediments in proximity to Au mineralization, them am elevated Au contents and high contents of associated pathfinder elements (Sb, As, Pb, Cu and Zn). The idea that secondary haloes, developed during late~~tion from vertical subsidence of weathering fronts, affect dispersion was reinforced by a report that showed a halo dispersion order of Ag < Bi < MO < Pb < Au < As. Relative geochemical mobilities in an oxide zone associated with nickel sulfide deposits with platinum group elements in a humid tropical climate were determined as (Rh, Jr) < Ru < Pt < Pd < Cu < Co < Ni. The concept of ore-magmatic systems was evaluated for copper porphyry prospecting in intm~ntinen~ mobil zones and researchers found that regional (B, Bi, As) and local (Sn, MO, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ag, Sb, and other elements) dispemion trends showed haloes in rocks, soils, and stream sediments with a zoning sequence of (Sn, MO, Cu)-(Ag, Pb, Zn)-(As, Bi, Sb). Biogeochemistry was reported as being useful for Au exploration in arid and semi-arid climates in southern California, and the possibility of using geobotanical and biogeochemical exploration for gold in tbe Arctic Alpine belt of Finnish LapIand was evaluated. In addition, results of extensive regional pilot studies for Pt group metals in common plants of northern forests are reported and establish the possibilities and the norms for Pt group metals exploration via vegetation biogeochemistry. This volume presents a wide range of topics and will be useful to exploration geochemists working in the geographic-geologic regimes evaluated by the papers and abstracts. However, the number of papers (three or less) in four of the seven category topics treated is disappointing, and the price of the volume at $189.50 is way out of line and limits its availability to the scientific community. Indeed, I consider the price of the volume outrageous and a disservice to the community the publisher purports to serve (with reasonable economic gain), including university libraries which arc having to be selective in their acquisitions because of increasing costs of books and journals. A member of the Association of Explomtion Ge~hemis~ receives the volumes of the Internationat Geochemical Exploration Symposia as a regular issue of the Journal ofGeo&emical Explorationplus all other issues of the Journol for a cost of$42.50 (to be $50.00 in 1990) annually. This means a saving of $147.50 on the volume reviewed here alone.
GeochemicalExploration 1987 is a compendium of 30 papers (6 in French with English abstracts) and 23 abstracts of presentations made at the 12th International Geochemical Exploration Symposium and the 4th Sym~ium on Methods in Geochemical Prospecting held in Orleans (France), 23-26 April 1987. The topics covered fall into seven categories: (1) Gold, including Late&c Environments (3 papers, 5 abstracts); (2) Exploration in Tropical Terrains (10 papers); (3) Biogeochemistry (3 papers); (4) Exploration using Transported Overburdens (6 papers, 3 abstracts); (5) Analytical Methods/Isotopes (1 paper, 3 abstracts); (6) Data Processing interpretation (3 papers, 5 abstracts); and (7) Rock Geochemistry (4 papers, 7 abstracts). Workshop reports on data processing and an ge~hemi~ exploration in lateritic environments are also included. One-third of the papers deal with various aspects of geochemical exploration for gold. The case. studies presented represent a wide geographic, geologic, climatologic, and geomorphologic range of conditions from regions in North America, South America, Australia, Africa, Europe (including Scandanavia), and the Soviet Union. Notably absent were con~butions from Asian and Central American geochemical explomtionists. Each study is unique in its focus, whether on sample media for a given environment, importance of lithodependence of weathered products on parent rock, processes such as dissolution and reprecip nation in soil systems, mobility of target elements or pathfinder elements under different regimes for environmental conditions, local alteration characteristics related to specific mineralization types, re gional characteristics such as geochemicaf corridors and zoning sequences, generalized exploration models or applications of statistical methods to the definition of anomaly systems. Although case studies dominate the volume, a conceptual paper on generalized exploration models for deeply weathered terrains based on degree of preservation of preexisting profiles formed under humid, tropical climates (between 35”N and 35’S latitudes), and the modifications due to later climatic and tectonic events, and which integrates weathering and erosional histories, is excellently presented and serves to allow a better understanding of many other papers in the volume. A conceptual field-examples paper proposes the “chalcophile corridor concept” for which regional elongated (15 to 30 km wide and 50 to 100 km long) chalcophile element trends inherited from bedrock are imprinted as geochemical patterns in lateritic duricrust materials, but with enhanced dispersion. These trends (for As and Sb, plus sporadic Bi, MO, Ag, Sn, W, Se, or Au) are related to different ore types including gold and base metal sulfide deposits, may be linked to major faults or shear zones, and can be useful in delineating
Dep~r~menlo~Geology George WashingtonUniversity Washington.DC 20052, USA
Mantle Metusomatisrnedited by M. A. Menzies and C. J. Hawkes worth. Academic Press, f987,472p., $49.50 (ISBN 0-12-49108~7).
Frederic R. Siegel
“cryptic metasomatism.” Documentation of the textural associations and ~m~sitions of hydrous, carbonated, or in~m~tible~lementrich minerals in veins or the matrix of ultramatic xenoliths provide evidence for “modal” or “patent” metasomatism. Petrogenetic studies of the products of basaltic volcanism and associated xenolith suites link magma generation and migration at depth to compositional heterogeneity within the upper mantle. One or more of these points of view are seen in the methods employed in the majority of papers in this book. The eleven papers collected in this book are divided into three sections. The first, entitled, “Theoretical and Experimental Foundation,” contains two chapters: “Dynamics of Translithospheric Migration of Metasomatic Fluid and Alkaline Magma, by F. J. Spera; and “Solubility of Major and Trace Elements in Mantle Metasomatic Fluids: Experimental Constraints,” by D. H. Eggler. The second part,
DUR~IVG THELASTI5 YEARS,diverse lines of geochemicrd, geophysical, and petrologic research on uhramahc xenoliths and associated eruptive rocks have led to complex models for the evolution and heterogeneity of the lithospheric mantle. The advent of the international and interdisciplinary Kimberlite Conferences is well-correlated with an increasing enthusiasm for petroiogjc and geochemical studies of ‘mantle rne~~tisrn.~ The term refers to alteration of lithospheric mantle rocks from melt or fluid sources exotic to such rocks, excluding the emplacement and crystallization of melts that iack associated wallrock alteration. Trace element and isotope studies of ultramafic xenoliths (or of xenolithic clinopymxenes) describe the effects of events of geochemical enrichment and depletion, termed by some workers 4x7
4%
Book Reviews
entitled ~‘Me~mati~ and Enrichment in Lithospberic Peridot&es,” containssix papers: “Minemlo~cand Geochemical Evidence for Difr fering Styles of Metasomatism in Spine1 Lhenolite Xenoliths: Enriched Mantle Source of Basalts?” by P. D. Kempton; “‘Characterization of Mantle Metasomatic Fluids in Spine1 Lherzolites and Alkali Clinopyroxenites from the West Eifel and South West Uganda.” by F. E. Lloyd: “Me~matiz~ Harzburgites in Kimberlite and Alkaline Magmas: Enriched Restites and ‘Flushed’ Lherzolites.” by .I. B. Dawson; “Me&somatic and Emicbment Phenomena in Garnet Peridotite Facies Mantle Xenoliths from the Matsoku Kimberhte Pipe, Lesotho,” by B. Harte, P. A. Winterburn, and J. J. Gurney: “Evidence for Mantle Metasomatism in Peridotite Nodules from the Kimberley Pipes, South Africa,” by A. J. Erlank, F. G. Waters, C. J. Hawkesworth, S, E. Haggerty, H. L. Allsopp, R. S. Rickard, and M. Men&s; and “Me~~matic and En~~hment Processes in I~ithosphe~c Peridomes, an Effect of Asthenosphere-Lithosphere Interaction,” by M. Menzies, N. Rogers, A. Tindle, and C. Hawkesworth. The final settion, “Enrichment Processes and Basaltic Volcanism,” contains three papers: “Isotope Variations in Recent Volcanics: A Trace-Element Perspective,” by C. J. Hawkesworth, P. Van Calsteren, N. W. Rogers. and M. A. Menzies; “Source Regions of Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts: Evidence for Enrichment Processes,” by A. P. Le Roex: and “The Mantle Source for the Hawaiian Islands: ~onstrail~ts from the Lavas and Ultrama% Inclusions,” by F. A. Frey and M. F. Roden. The breadth of these topics suggests that the volume was in part intended to be an overview of the field. In this light, the first two papers and the last paper in the volume deserve special mention. All three am well-written reviews of complex subjects that pay careful attention to defining problems and marshailing data, and are evidently
aimed at bright graduate students. However, a non-specialist like this reviewer may find some of the six chapters that comprise most of the book (Part II) to be significantly less accessible than those in the other two parts. At least four of the six seem to be technical papers based on the current research of the author(s), intended for fellow specialists. When read along with such high-level presentations of the petrology and geochemistry of selected suites of ultramafic xenoliths, the more general review papers (despite their ii~d~~idualand collective good qualities) Seem a bit out of place. This dissonance was probably unavoidable if the editors intended to assemble a volume of interest both to specialists and to a somewhat more general audience. However, if a better context in which to set the presentation of new material had been provided, it might have been possible to achieve a more reasonable balance between review and research. This could have increased the value of the book to those preparing graduate courses, or to a browsing non-specialist. The distinguish~ editors have assembled a world-class and worldgirdling group of contributors, which guarantees that this volume will be of interest and use to members of the community ofpetrologisa and geochemists studying ultramalic xenoliths, mantle metasomatism, and the origin of alkaline and basaltic magmas. However, because much of the volume is directed toward researchers in this community, its appeal to geochemists and petrologists who are no? conducting research on such topics may be somewhat more timitd
Se@D[ffusion in Electrolyte Solutions by R. Mills and V. M. M. Lobo. Physical Sciences Data 36, Elsevier, 1989, 346p., US $134.25 (ISBN O-444-87288-4)*
one ion in fact are weighted averages for ali the aqueous complexes of that ion in the system at hand, as indicated in a clear and useful 12-page Intr~u~tion that also gives basic equations and summa~zes experimental methods. A feature of this compilation is its price, 134 dollars. One can compare it to a combined price of 28 pounds for the two volumes of Sill&n and Martell’s Stability Constants u~~etu~-~un Complexes ( 1964, I97 I), which have twenty-five times more information than the compilation under review here. In deciding on that price Elsevier cannot ilaim a high publication cost, because the authors themselves naid for oart of it with a subsidy from the Australian National Uniiersity &ess. Efsevier has probabiy long ago written off individual buyers of its books, but neve~hele~. based on a rough #rn~~~~ between cost and benefit, my suggestion is, don’t buy this book. Shouki you need difbrsion coefficient data, look them up for example in Robinson and Stokes’ Electrolyte Solutions, Lerman’s Geochemicul Processes, Berner’s Early Diagenesis, and Gelkers and Helgeson’s &o&m. Co.~m~h~m. Acta F&63-85, or search for them electronically in Chem. Abstracts,
THS ISA CRITICAL COMPILATIONofex~~mental di~usion coefficients of ions, solvents, and a few organic species in binary and ternary electrolyte solutions. The solvents include deuterated, tritiated, and oxygen- IS water, Data for each system are tabulated for a range of concentrations and temperatures (for instance, up to 5-molar and 80°C for NaCI), as available. For most species the values provided refer to 25°C only. The compilation inciudes many sets of di~usion coefficient values obtained by the first author, but, surprisingly, none for the carbonate or bicar~nate ions in aqueous solutions. An appendix lists references to diffusion data that have not been included in these tables (because they were inaccessible to the authors or deemed inaccurate), and another appendix reproduces calculated limiting diffusion coefficients of ions to 1000°C and 5 kb. The layout of the tables is very open, the type is large, and the format to refer to the original references is highly repetitious {for instance, a reference to a paper by Woolf and Wein~~ner is repeated in full twelve times in p. 22-29), so that the total amount of info~ation tabulated (per page and for tbc whole voiume) is low. Bach individual table contains a spare critical assessment of the data and their estimated precision: this is very good. Diffusion-coefficient values that are given for any
Antarctica: Soils, ~earh~rj~g Processes and Environment by I. B. CampbeII and Cl. G. C. Claridge. Elsevier, l987,368p., US $fCl7.25 (ISBN O-444-42784-8). ONE OFTHE MOST commendable aspects of Campbell and &ridge’s book on Antarctic p&o&y is the comprehen~ve treatment of the di&rent components of the natural ecosylstem. The coverage of dimate, geology, and biology not only sets the stage for the discussion on soil distribution and processes that follows, but also provides the reader with up-to-date knowledge of this continent discovered only I50 years ago. Climate and climatic implications in the formation and distribution ofsoilsare properly researched and well interpreted for distinguishing the different moisture regimes. The recognition of
Department of’Minerut Sr’iences, KHN- I I9 National Museum ofNatural Histon Smithsonian lnstituti~~n Washington, DC’ t056ff. 154
Department of Geofog~y fndiana UniverAsitJ Bloomington, IN 4740.5, USA
Sorcna Sorensen
Enrique Merino
these regimes forms the basis for the soil cl~~~t~on proposed by the authors. The other chapters cover biology, weathering (physical and cbemical), soils and soil prop&a, soil distribution, s&a, soil development, and glacial history. The discussion on the felity of the cold-desert ecosystem to human impacts is most timely. information regarding weathering is pettinent but is not as detailed as one would expect. Physical ~sint~tion ofrocks is very common ~rou~out the ice-free areas and, because of the abeence of v~tion, it is quite apparent to an observer. More emphasis should have been placed on the role of unBoaen water in fiuzen rocks and soih and on the effects of drastic temperature excursions which rock surfaces undergo during alternating exposures to sun and shadow.