Contents


Preface

Geochemistry has always been a multidisciplinary scientific field, characterized by bringing together and synthesizing knowledge and tools from numerous related subjects. It is also a dynamic field of knowledge which, from its formal origins in the 19th century to the present day, has encountered and confronted new challenges. Without abandoning research in mature fields, such as mineral exploration or the geochemical characterization of tectonic processes, the interest of geochemistry has been directed, in recent decades, to some of the most imminent challenges for our society, such as the effects and possible mitigation of climate change or the impact of our society's habits on the health of people and ecosystems. As has happened since the beginning of this scientific discipline, the development of these new fields of geochemistry is linked to advances in the available instrumental techniques for an increasingly precise characterization of the distribution of elements, substances, mineral species, and isotopes in the different geological and environmental matrices. All the aspects mentioned above about geochemistry are reflected in this book, in which researchers from five continents make use of advanced analytical techniques (i.e. Mössbauer spectroscopy, Itrax X-Ray Fluorescence core scanning), and tools and concepts of nearby or auxiliary disciplines (geophysics, remote sensing,

biology) to advance the knowledge of complex geochemical problems.

producing this book.

We would like to thank all contributors greatly for their collaboration and effort in

**Luis Felipe Mazadiego, Eduardo De Miguel Garcia, Miguel Izquierdo-Díaz and Fernando Barrio-Parra**

Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Minas y Energía,

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid,

Madrid, Spain
