This book is a contribution to the International Year of PlanetEarth arising from the 33rd International Geological Congress, heldin Oslo, Norway during August 2008. The first section of the bookconsiders aspects of geochemical processes which led to thedevelopment of the solid Earth as it is today. The second portionof the book shows how the rapidly-evolving analytical tools andapproaches presently used by geochemists may be used to solveemerging environmental and other societal problems.This unique collection of reviews, with contributions froma range of internationally distinguished scientists, will beinvaluable reading for advanced students and others interested inthe central role geochemistry in the earth sciences.

Editors and Contributors.Editors' Preface (Andrew Parker and Russell S.Harmon).Introduction to Frontiers in Geochemistry: Contribution ofGeochemistry to the Study of the Earth (Stuart RossTaylor).Part 1: Contribution of Geochemistry to the Study of theEarth.1. Geochemistry and Secular Geochemical Evolution of the Earth'sMantle and Lower Crust (Balz S. Kamber).2. Crustal Evolution - A Mineral Archive Perspective(C.J. Hawkesworth, A.I.S. Kemp, B. Dhuime and C.D.Storey).3. Discovering the History of Atmospheric Oxygen (Heinrich D.Holland).4. Geochemistry of the Oceanic Crust (Karsten M.Haase).5. Silicate Rock Weathering and the Global Carbon Cycle(Sigurdur R. Gislason and Eric H. Oelkers).6. Geochemistry of Secular Evolution of Groundwater (TomasPaces).7. Stable Isotope Geochemistry: Some Perspectives (JochenHoefs).Part 2: Frontiers in Geochemistry.8. Geochemistry of Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide(Yousif K. Kharaka and David R. Cole).9. Microbial Geochemistry: At the Intersection of Disciplines(Philip Bennett and Christopher Omelon).10. Nanogeochemistry: Nanostructures and Their Reactivity inNatural Systems (Yifeng Wang, Huizhen Gao and HuifangXu).11. Urban Geochemistry (Morten Jartun and Rolf ToreOttesen).12. Archaeological and Anthropological Applications of Isotopicand Elemental Geochemistry (Henry P. Schwarcz).Index.Colour plates.