The Geochemical Classification of Elements

R. W. FairbriiXjE, Encyclopedia of Geochemistry and Environmental Sciences, Van Nostrand, New York, 1972.. See sections on Geochemical Classification of the Elements Sulfates Sulfate Reduction-Microbial Sulfides Sulfosalts Sulfur Sulfur Cycle Sulfur Isotope Fractionation in Biological Processes, etc., pp. 1123 - 58. 

Geochemical subdivision of the Periodic Table. The Goldschmidt s geochemical classification of the elements in the Periodic Table is presented in Fig. 4.10... 

Table 8.10. Geochemical classification" of the elements, according to distribution between iron, sulfides, silicates, atmosphere, and organisms... 

Chemical Composition of Chondritic Meteorites Table 2 Cosmochetnical and geochemical classification of the elements. 

FIGURE 1-9 Geochemical Classification of the Elements. (Adapted with permission from P. A. Cox, The Elements, Their Origin, Abundance, and Distribution, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1990, p. 13.)... 

A rather different approach to understanding the condensation of the solar nebula came from the work of the geochemist V.M. Goldschmidt carried out in the 1920s. Goldschmidt proposed, what has now become, a widely used geochemical classification of the elements. This work was in part based upon the study of meteorites, and so his classification is very relevant to the understanding of planetary processes. 

A geochemical classification of the elements based upon their electronegativities... 

TABLE 2.1 A cosmochemical and geochemical classification of the elements based upon their Lithophile/siderophile/chalcophile affinities and their refractory or volatile character (after Palme and O Neill, 2003). ... 

V. M. Goldschmid s geochemical classification of the elements (1923), which has formed the basis of all subsequent developments in the field, proposed four main groups of elements chalcophile, siderophilc, lithophile and atraophile. Of these the chalcophiles (Greek chalcos, copper (t ii og", philos,... 

Table A.4. Geochemical classification of the elements (after Goldschmidt )...

A complete geochemical classification of the elements is given in Figure 4.2. 

A geochemical classification of trace elements according to their position in the periodic table... 

Goldschmidt (32) also introduced the concept of a geochemical classification of elements, in which the elements are classified on the basis of their affinities and tendencies to occur in minerals of a single group. The chalcophile elements are those which commonly form sulfides. In addition to sulfur, they include Zn, Cd, Hg, Cu, Pb, As, Sb, Se, and others. When present in coals, these elements would be expected to occur, at least in part, in sulfide minerals. Sulfides other than pyrite and marcasite have been noted in coals, but, except in areas of local concentration, they occur in trace or minor amounts. 

The classification of chemical elements into major and minor or trace element categories is somewhat arbitrary. Thermodynamically, a minor element may be defined as one that is partitioned between coexisting phases in compliance with laws of dilute solutions, such as Henry s law, eq. (7.2b). In geochemical parlance, however, trace elements are usually categorized on the basis of abundance data. In this context, the mineral, rock or environment containing the chemical elements must be defined as well as the concentration boundary separating a major and trace element. 

According to the geochemical classification of elements, the two major categories are ... 

Figure4.2 A complete geochemical classification of elements. Notes Lan- is the element lanthanum and lanthanides of the naturally radioactive elements only Th and U are...

The geochemical classification using major oxides shows that the samples used in this study plot in the litharenite field, and, implies that they are mineralogically submature. Major-element concentrations point to significant weathering effect in the source area of the sample set. Provenance analyses, based on major-and trace-element compositions suggest... 

Unlike silicon and germanium, tin and lead belong to the family of chalcophile elements (according to the Goldshmidt geochemical classification), which have a high affinity to sulfur. In this connection the stability of the stannathiane Sn—S bond (in the Sn—S—Sn... 

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