THE proliferation and the importance of the results of crystal structure analysis confront the chemist with the need to learn the language of crystallography. This book is an outgrowth of the opinion that the training of the undergraduate chemistry major can include more of this language than the memorization of a list of lattice types. At the same time, it would be unreasonable and impractical to expect all chemists to become experts in this specialized field. The purpose, therefore, is to treat the subject in a manner that will quickly and painlessly enable the nonspecialist to read and comprehend the crystallographic literature. It is hoped that this introduction may serve as a useful starting point for those students who wish to pursue the subject further.

The principal message is contained in the first four chapters. That is, these chapters supply the vocabulary of crystallography, and descriptions of crystal structures should be rendered intelligible by acquaintance with this language. In order not to discourage the general reader, the use of mathematics has been kept to a minimum. The decision to omit vector and matrix methods was made reluctantly, in order to reduce the prerequisites, but the elegance thus sacrificed is a luxury that some exceptionally competent crystallographers get along without

The discipline which is now known as geostatistics began to develope over thirty years ago for mining evaluation and since has extended to other fields of activity. Around 1960 in particular, G. Matheron built linear geostatistics. Some of its tools (variogram, kriging) are widely used nowadays. Linear geostatistics makes it possible for instance to evaluate the metal content of a mining block or panel by estimating the mean of the grades of the points in it from samples. The reader of this book is supposed to be familiar with linear geostatistics. <...>

To begin, we define soil as the weathered and fragmented outer layer of the earth’s terrestrial surface. It is formed initially through disintegration, decomposition, and recomposition of mineral material contained in exposed rocks by physical, chemical, and biological processes. The material thus modified is further conditioned by the activity and accumulated residues of numerous microscopic and macroscopic organisms (plants and animals). In a series of processes that may require hundreds or even thousands of years and that is called soil genesis, the loose debris of rock fragments is transmuted into a more or less stable, internally ordered, actively functioning natural body. Ultimately, this culminates in the formation of a characteristic soil profile, which resembles a layer cake. We can visualize the soil profile as a composite living body, in the same way that we think of the human body as a distinct organism, even though in reality it is an ensemble of numerous interdependent and symbiotically coordinated groups of organelles, cells, organs, and colonies of myriad organisms. <...>

Geochemistry deals essentially with the processes and consequences of distribution of elements in minerals and rocks in different physical–chemical environments and, as such, permeates all branches of geology to varying degrees. An adequate background in geochemistry is, therefore, an imperative for earth science students. This book is an attempt to cater to that need. It covers a wide variety of topics, ranging from atomic structures that determine the chemical behavior of elements to modern biogeochemical cycles that control the global–scale distribution of elements. It is intended to serve as a text for an introductory undergraduate/graduate level course in geochemistry, and it should also provide the necessary background for more advanced courses in mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry. <...>