Customer Reviews

A good introduction for students of environmental chemistry - By: , 05 May 2001
I use this book as the major course text for an environmental chemistry module within an applied environmental geosciences MSc course. This book achieves the very difficult feat of dealing with fundamental conceptsin geochemistry, but at the same time maintaining their relevance to applied aspects of the subject. The importance of equilibrium or kinetic chemistry to environmental processes is not banal to the average Earth Sciences student. So, to teach the basics of these subjects & at the same time maintain clarity & the student's interest can become a challenge. The way that Deutsch introduces the subjects, uses clear examples (alhtough largely N.American dominated) & then ties the topics together with more detailed case studies of (e.g. acid mine contamination & landfill effluent) means that students can get a clear grasp of the chemistry while never losing sight of why they're learning all those dull equations. The book is good enough at what it does that I'll even forgive the horrid gaff concerning Fe(II) oxidationin the acid contamination section (I'll leave the reader to spot it!). Allin all I commend this book to anyone who requires a good, solid, introduction to the geochemistry of groundwater.