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Geochemical Modeling in Environmental and Geological Studies

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Environmental Geology

  • 1139 Accesses

  • Originally published in
  • R. A. Meyers (ed.), Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology, © Springer Science+Business Media LLC, 2012

Glossary

Activation energy:

The energy that must be overcome in order for a chemical reaction to occur.

Mass transport:

The net movement of mass from one location to another due to hydrological processes such as advection, dynamic dispersion, chemical reactions, and microbial activities.

Rate law:

A rate law is a statement about how the rate of a reaction depends on the concentrations of the participating species.

Solubility product:

Equilibrium constants for various kinds of reactions with a solid phase on one side and its constituent ions on the other.

Species:

A chemical entity distinguishable from other entities by molecular formula and structure, e.g., CO2 and O2 in a gas, and HCO3−, H2CO3o(aq), CO32−, NaHCO3o(aq).

Definition of the Subject and Its Importance

Geochemical modelinguses a set of mathematical expressions thought to represent chemical and transport processes in a particular geological system. The predictions of the model are partially observable or experimentally...

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Acknowledgments

The writing of this entry was also made possible with continued financial support from the US National Science Foundation (EAR0423971, EAR0509775, EAR 0809903) and the US Department of Energy (DE-FG26-04NT42125, DE-FE0004381). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material, however, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the US Government or any agency thereof.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Chen Zhu

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  1. Chen Zhu
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. PELA GeoEnvironmental, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

    James W. LaMoreaux

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Zhu, C. (2012). Geochemical Modeling in Environmental and Geological Studies. In: LaMoreaux, J. (eds) Environmental Geology. Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8787-0_202

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