Chemistry and the Environment

From the origin of the Earth to climate change, this textbook presents the chemistry of the environment using the full strength of physical, inorganic, and organic chemistry, in addition to the necessary mathematics and physics, using modern notation and terminology. It provides a broad yet thorough description of the environment and the environmental impact of human activity using scientific principles.

Chemistry and the Environment describes the chemistry of Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere (including soils) and the biogeochemical cycles. The book presents a variety of industrial processes, from paper and steel to energy and pesticide production, focusing discussion on the environmental impact of these processes and showing how increasing environmental awareness has led to improved methods. The text provides an accessible account of environmental chemistry while paying attention to the fundamental basis of the science, showing derivations of formulas and giving primary references and historical insight. The authors make consistent use of professionally accepted nomenclature (IUPAC and SI), allowing transparent access to the material by students and scientists from other fields.

The authors created this textbook primarily for their own courses, and it has been developed through many years of feedback from students and colleagues. The book will be invaluable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in environmental chemistry courses, and for professionals in chemistry and allied fields.

“This outstanding text brings together fundamental information about the natural chemistry of the Earth and its atmosphere and the environmental impacts of anthropogenic chemicals. It is well suited for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students and researchers in chemistry, Earth sciences, and atmospheric science.”

“Both authors have excellent scientific standing and complementary backgrounds. They have combined well on this excellent textbook, based on their long experience of teaching environmental chemistry to undergraduate students at the University of Copenhagen. There are many textbooks on environmental chemistry aimed at undergraduate and graduate courses, but this is one of the best that I have come across. It will be adopted for courses in every university for the next decade and beyond due to its logical and comprehensive content. I strongly recommend this excellent textbook for environmental chemistry and related courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels.”

“Harnung and Johnson have produced a textbook on environmental chemistry that is firmly rooted in physical and chemical principles and follows a strict quantitative and analytical approach. Nevertheless, the accessible style and informative footnotes make it a joy to read and explore for graduate students and professionals alike. It perfectly fills the gap left by more phenomenological introductions to the field.”

Sven E. Harnung is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen and was Head of Department for 12 years. He teaches courses on environmental, inorganic, physical, and analytical chemistry, including pharmaceutical applications. His current research concentrates on magnetic studies of single-molecule magnets. He is the author of three chemistry textbooks in Danish. Dr. Harnung has organized several congresses, including an International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) General Assembly. He has been a member of the Danish National Committee for Chemistry for more than 30 years, and he is a Fellow of IUPAC. He has served as a board member of the journals Acta Chemica Scandinavica and Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics.

Matthew S. Johnson is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen. He teaches courses on environmental chemistry, physical and quantum chemistry, and scientific writing. His main research interest is atmospheric chemistry, including kinetics, spectroscopy, and stable isotopes in atmospheric trace gases. He is a coauthor of more than 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He has invented and patented a method for efficient emissions control and improving building energy efficiency. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study stratospheric chemistry at the Max-lab electron storage ring in Lund, Sweden. He has worked as a researcher for Honeywell and Medtronic and has research collaborations with many groups around the world, including Ford Motor Company and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Sven E. Harnung

University of Copenhagen

Matthew S. Johnson

University of Copenhagen

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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© Sven E. Harnung and Matthew S. Johnson 2012

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2012
Printed in the United States of America

A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

ISBN 978-1-107-02155-6 Hardback
ISBN 978-1-107-68257-3 Paperback
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