Isotopic (nuclear) geology constitutes an exact, quantitative branch of the Earth sciences which has expanded rapidly to cover a wide spectrum of applications since the establishment of its basic principles by the early 1950s, in part following seminal researches by H. C. Urey, H. A. Lowenstam, S. Epstein, T. Mayeda and numerous others. This immense progress, accelerating in recent years, led to the application of isotopes in attempting to resolve a variety of geochemical and geological problems in the Earth sciences. Lunar exploration too provided rocks for analysis and their examination stimulated refinements in mass spectrometry later used for terrestrial materials as well. New geochronometric methods were devised and include those based on the radioactive decay of l47Sm to l4:tNd, l76Lu to l7f,Hf, l87Re to ,87Os and 4llK to 4(1Ca, as well as others depending upon the production and distribution of cosmogenic radionuclides such as 2(,A1, l0Be and 36C1.

This book is based on the script of a lecture course in isotope geochemistry, which is given at the University of Strasbourg, France and at the Eidgen6ssische Tech nische Hochschule (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland by Peter Stille. It is intended to be read by geologists, hydrologists, geochemists and any researchers and students from the broad fieldof environmental science. Its purpose is to enable readers to venture safely into the often mirky realms of radiogenic isotope geochemistry' applied to sedimentary and aquatic systems. The authors have strived to construct the book in such a way that it can be read and understood by those readers, especially students, who have no background in geochemistry. 7 chapters.take the reader through the rock cycle from weathering on the continent to eventual deposition in the sea, looked at largely from the perspective of radiogenic isotope geochemistry. <...>

Do we actually understand geologic processes? New technology brings new information and perceptions, which sometimes overturn imaginations based on simple observation and estimation, in conjunction with common sense inference. In 1902– 1904, Pierre Curie and Ernest Rutherford first formulated the idea of using radioactive transformation of nuclides as a geologic chronometer. After a century of working with such tools, geology has advanced from a descriptive science to an analytic science that formulates conclusions based on exact values. The technology of radiogenic isotope geology has created a branch of science that considers the Earth as a planet generated within a Solar system and studies the subsequent evolution of geologic processes that has resulted in the present formation of our planet’s continents and oceans.<...>

In Earth Sciences and Cultural Heritage Science we can only understand the formation of the 'objects' if they are well characterized. Optical observation, including optical microscopy, is still the primary tool and is essential in obtaining a preliminary, qualitative determination of an object, to determine the relations between it and other objects, and to place it in a general context. Most of the time, however, optical observations are insufficient. Spectroscopic methods are the second "set of eyes" used to gain greater insight into these objects and to use physical chemistry, if applicable, to derive the mechanisms of formation. Spectroscopic methods are numerous and have been described in a previous volume (6) in the EMU Notes in Mineralogy series, edited by A. Beran & E. Libowitzky (2004).