book reviews Editor: W . F. KIEFFER College of Woator
Woorter, Ohio
Aquatic Chemistry: An Introduction Emphasizing Chemical Equilibrim in Natural Waters
Werner Stumm, Harvard University and James J . Moroan. California Institute of Technology. " ~iley-Interscience, New 583 pp. Figs. and York, 1971. xv tables. 23.5 X 16 em. 624.95.
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There are s. dozen books available now on chemical equilibrium, but this book, subtitled "An Introduction Emphasizing Chemical Equilibria in Natural Waters" is a new species. Its appearance, coinciding with a. sudden demand by students for course material with relevance to ecology and environmental science, may well cause all the previous equilibrium texts to be rewritten. The principles of solution equilibrium as taught in most undergraduate curricula have in general been exemplified by application to analytical chemistry: solubility of precipitates, titrations, potentiometry, etc. Although these same principles were being used in graduate-level courses in geology, biochemistry, and civil engineering, such examples rarely found their wav to the analvtical or ~hvsiehlchemists whb usually taught thk "undergraduate chemistry courses. There was a. substantial gap between teaching and practice, but now Stumm and Morgan have managed to bridge that gap with a. wealth
rReviewed
The first 6 chapters treat the familiar subject matter of acid-base, precipitation, and coordination equilibria from the viewpoint of one concerned with how these phenomena occur in natural waters and a t the water-sediment interface. For example, a n entire chapter is devoted to equilibria in the system COrH1O-CaCO3 and related systems, because this set of components forms the simplest possible model of the chemical interactions between air, water, and land. The distinction between intensive (pH, temperature) and extensive (total cmbonate, alkalinity) variables is clearly made, and graphical methods of amazing variety are presented as alternatives to the standard algebraic equations. I n discussing precipitation and coordination, the geological viewpoint becomes important, and it is delightful to see the way in which simple chemical equilibrium models have been used to understand some fairly difficult examples, ranging from the shbility of FeCO* (siderite) in nature, and the conditions under which might expect CaCOa (calcite), CaMg(COa)l (dolomite), hlg(OH)r (brucite), Mg~(COa)s(OH)2(H.0).(hydromagnesite), or MgCO8(H.O)~ (nesquehonite) to be the stable solid in equilibrium with s. natural water, to a 9-metal, 9-ligand model of a somewhat polluted water which includes organic ligands such as nitrilotriacetate and citrate as well ss the usual inorganic anions. I n all cases, a clear grasp on the real situation is maintained,
and the exposition is never allowed to lapse into mere formalism. With Chapter 7, the difficult subject of oxidation and reduction in natural systems is approached from an electrochemical viewpoint, and activity ratio diagrams using the dimensionless variable pr (redax potential expressed in units of 2.303RTIF) are used to simplify calculations. Chapt,er 8 brings redox systems into combination with the earlier material in a. discussion of how the chemical compasition of natural waters is regulated. Here the necessary departures from equilibrium are made. Sillen's steady-state model of the oceans is presented together with variations on the same theme (regulation by equilibria between a number of solid phases in the sediments) by others. Interaction between living organisms, natural waters, and sediments leads logically to a discussion of pollution and eutrophication as disturbances of the balance betweenphot,osynthesisand respiration. A condensed review of surface nnd calloid chemistry in Chapter 9 prepares for the final chapter, where detailed case studies of the forms and transformations of phosphorous, iron, and manganese, three very important components of nstural waters, are presented. Here kinetic processes interact with equilibria, surface processes interact with homogenous reactions, and biological processes interact with chemical processes. This material is drawn from the past decade's research by the authors and their ea-workers, and is a particularly appropriate note on which to end the book. Although "Aquatic Chemistry" is priced tao high to expect widespread textbook use (we may hope far a lower-priced paperback edition), the material presented here is certainly suitable far undergraduate
nature of its literatureieferences will make i t a n indispensible addition to the library of anyone teaching the chemistry of aqueous solutions.
JAMES N. BUTLER Haward University Cambridge, Mass. OH58
in this Issue
Werner Slumm and James J . Morgan, Aquatic Chemistry: An Introduction . ..A779 Emphasiaing Chemical Equilibria in Natural Waters Donald B. Summers, Chemistry Handbook . . .A779 Chemistry Hondbook
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WilliamE. Parham, Syntheses and ResctionsinOrganic Chemistry . .A780 Ferdinand Rodriguez, Principles of Polymer Systems .. .A780 J . Korgla, J . Duorak, and V . Rohackma, Electrochemistry . . .A782 J. D. Watson, Molecular Biology of the Gene . . A782 Robert F. Gould, editor, Dietary Chemicals vs. Dental Caries. Advances in ..A784 Chemistry Series no. 94 Harry F . hfeiners, editor, Physics Demonstration Experiments. Volumes . . .A784 I and I1 Frank Gmenaway, John Dalton and the Atom . . .A784 Hellmut Fiedler, Chemisches Rechnen m f elementarer Grundlage in Form einer . . .A786 Aufgabensmmlung Louis De Vries, Helga Kolb, and Joachim Thuss, Dictionary of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (W8rterbuch der Chemie und der Chemischen . . A786 Verfahrensteehnik) . . .A787 New Volumes in Continuing Series
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Donald B. Summers. Willard Grant Press. Ino.. Boston. Massachusetts. 92 pp. 'Figs. and tables: 1970.' iii 23.2 X 16.5 cm. $1.95.
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Here is a. concise, well organized handbook of pertinent information for the science-oriented student. The most commonly used standard chemical information has been compiled in a. convenient package dong with physioal oonstants and mathematical expressions. An adequate index aids use for quick reference. There are relatively few typographical errors. (One was spotted in thestatement of Graham's Law on page 41.) The abbreviation for the unit of energy, the (Continued on page A780)
Volume 48, Number 12, December
1971
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A779
