A dynamic Earth

The elements on earth and combinations of them are the building blocks for soil, water and air and are also the material base for all hfe. Knowledge of the elements and of matter is vital for an understanding of nature and for the possibility of keeping the earth as a suitable and safe place for people, animals and plants. 

Human Thought, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998. (The quotation is from the preface) 

Lagercrantz, Papyrus Graecus Holmien-sies, Almqvist Wiksell, Uppsala, 1913 

The Stockholm Papyrus, Journal of Chemical Education, 1927, 4 8, pp. 979-1002 

Toulmin and J. Goodfield, The Architecture of Matter, Hutchinson, London, 1962 p. 132 

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Armstrong R. L. (1968) A model for the evolution of strontium and lead isotopes in a dynamic Earth. Rev. Geophys. 6, 175-199. 

Comparative Biogeography Discovering and Classifying Biogeographical Patterns of a Dynamic Earth. Berkeley, CA University of California Press. 

As discussed in Section 2.0 (Exploration), the earth s crust is part of a dynamic system and movements within the crust are accommodated partly by rock deformation. Like any other material, rocks may react to stress with an elastic, ductile or brittle response, as described in the stress-strain diagram in Figure 5.5. 

Figure 15. Isotherms of internal mobilities in alkali-alkaline earth nitrate mixtures. The mobility of the alkali ion is always greater than that of the alkaline earth ion. (Reprinted from T. Koura, H. Matsuura, and I. Okada, "A Dynamic Dissociation Model for Internal Mobilities in Molten Alkali and Alkaline Earth Nitrate Mixtures,"/ Mol. Liq. 73-75 195, Fig. 4, Copyright 1997 with permission from Elsevier Science.)...

Michael PJ, Forsyth DW, Blackman DK, Fox PJ, Hanan BB, Harding AJ, Macdonald KC, Neumarm GA, Orentt JA, Tolstoy M, Weiland CM (1994) Mantle control of a dynamically evolving spreading center Mid-Atlantic Ridge 31-34°S. Earth Planet Sci Lett 121 451-468... 

Rabinowicz M, Ceuleneer G, Monnereau M, Rosemberg C (1990) Three-dimensional models of mantle flow across a low-viscosity zone implications for hotspot dynamics. Earth Planet Sci Lett 99 170-184 Reid MR(1995) Processes of mantle enrichment and magmatic differentiation in the eastern Snake River Plain Th isotope evidence. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 131 239-254 Reid MR, Ramos FC (1996) Chemical dynamics of enriched mantle in the southwestern United States Thorium isotope evidence. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 138 67-81. 

Knowledge of the 90 chemical elements and their properties in compounds led to the construction, by man, of a unique table of elements, the Periodic Table, of 18 Groups in six periods in a pattern fully explained by quantum theory, described in Chapter 2. There is then a huge variety of chemical combinations possible on the Earth and limitations on what is observable are related to element position in this Table. It also relates to the thermodynamic and/or kinetic stability of particular combinations of them in given physical circumstances (Table 11.3). The initial state of the surface of the Earth with which we are concerned was a dynamic water layer, the sea, covering a crust mainly of oxides and some sulfides and with an atmosphere of NH3, HCN, N2, C02(C0, CH4), H20, with some H2 but no 02. This combination of phases and their contents then produced an aqueous solution layer of particular components in which there were many concentration restrictions between it and the components of the other two layers due to thermodynamic stability, equilibria, or kinetic stability of the chemicals trapped in the phases. It is the case that equilibrium... 

Amov, G.A. (1983). Evolution of uranogenic and thorogenic lead, 1. A dynamic model of continuous isotopic evolution. Earth and Planetary... 

Coleman ML, Eggenkamp HGM, Aranyossy JF (2001) Chlorine stable isotope characterization of solute transport in mudrocks, ANDRA. Actes des Jounces Scientifiques EDP Sciences, France, p 155-175 Curie I (1921) Sur le poids atomique du chloe dans quelques mineraux. CR Acad Sci (Paris) 172 1025-1028 Deruelle B, Dreibus G, Jambon A (1992) Iodine abundances in oceanic basalts implications for Earth dynamics. Earth Planet Sci Lett 108 217-227... 

Scientists have noticed various shifts in Earth s equilibrium in recent years. Since Earth is in a dynamic equilibrium, some shifts occur naturally. There is considerable evidence, however, that the following shifts have been caused by, or at least strongly influenced by, human activibes. Some of these shifts may be familiar to you, with names such as global warming, ozone holes, and loss of biodiversity. ... 

Gaia hypothesis The hypothesis that living organisms and inorganic material on Earth are part of a dynamic homeostahe system. 

The earth s subsurface is not at complete thermodynamic equilibrium, but parts of the system and many species are observed to be at local equilibrium or, at least, at a dynamic steady state. For example, the release of a toxic contaminant into a groundwater reservoir can be viewed as a perturbation of the local equilibrium, and we can ask questions such as. What reactions will occur How long will they take and Over what spatial scale will they occur Addressing these questions leads to a need to identify actual chemical species and reaction processes and consider both the thermodynamics and kinetics of reactions. 

Deruelle, B., Dreibus, G., Jambon, A. (1992) Iodine abundances in oceanic basalts Implications for Earth dynamics. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 108, 217-27. 

The volatile acids from the earth s interior (H2O, HCl, SO2, CO2 and others) are neutralized by bases from the rocks and the reduced species formed are oxidized by oxygen. The system is however in a dynamic equilibrium upon which man s activity can have a relevant influence on a global as well as a local scale. The large amounts of atmospheric contaminants released by fuel combustion, industrial production and the extensive use of chemicals determine high fluxes of acidic precursors which contribute to alter atmospheric status. 

Zhong S., Parmentier E. M., and Zuber M. T. (2000) A dynamic origin for the global asymmetry of lunar mare basalts. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 177, 131-140. 

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