BIOGEOCHEMISTRY IS THE CHEMISTRY OF THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH.
The ultimate goal of biogeochemistry is to understand the processes controlling the chemical environment in which we live.
Founder of Biogeochemistry, Vladmir Vernadsky
The term "biogeochemistry" was coined by Vladimir Vernadsky (1863-1945) who wrote "The Biosphere" in 1926. In this book he makes the following points:
•Living matter exists only in the biosphere. This includes the troposphere, the oceans, and a thin layer of Earth's crust. •The biosphere is the domain of life where changes due to incoming solar radiation can occur. •Within the biosphere, there is a continual migration of atoms from the inert matter to living matter and back again. •Biogeochemical phenomena are the basis of the biosphere. •Earth's life, whose complex evolution is so obviously dependent on a host of environmental factors, is itself an enormously important agent of planetary change, often influencing, or even determining, the processes that shape the earth's surface, ocean and soil chemistry, atmospheric composition and climate. |