Egbert K. Duursma – författare

Twenty contributions on diverse aspects of the environmental geochemistry in tropical and sub-tropical environments make up this monograph. They summarize original research not readily available elsewhere in the literature. Most of the chapters include extensive original data that will be very useful to researchers interested in the tropics and sub-tropics. A group of papers on methods and their applications is aimed directly at scientists involved in environmental research in the tropics. There are also some interesting intercontinental comparisons drawn on paleoclimatology, environmental impacts of mining and geochemistry of continetal shelf sediments.

Marine science today is an area of rapid expansion. Scientific activity is in­ creasing, and a growing number of scientists are involved in one or more of its disciplines. For a thorough understanding of the marine environment, for its exploration, exploitation, and management, background knowledge of more than one discipline is required. A clear need therefore exists for a concise mul­ tidisciplinary oceanographic encyclopedia. The initiative for this book was taken by the Netherlands Institute of Sea Research, NIOZ, Texel, a multidisciplinary institute, founded in 1876. The second edition of this Encyclopedia contains some 1980 entries, 210 of which in (bio)chemistry, 330 in (bio)physics, 350 in geology, and 970 in biolo­ gy, while the remaining 120 are general terms, with 60 on oceanographic expe­ ditions. Concepts, terminology, and methods of the various disciplines are briefly explained and, especially in the description of marine processes, the book tries to be more than a glossary or a dictionary. It attempts to provide a succinct overview of the major topics in marine science. Students, teachers and scientists as well as interested laymen may use it to find an explanation of oceanographic terms outside their own fields. The manuscript of the first edi­ tion was read by a variety of potential users, whose comments have been used to improve and clarify the descriptions. The second edition has benefited from the comments by several reviewers.

Three symposia on environmental geochemistry in tropical countries, held in Niter6i, Brazil (1993), in Cartagena, Colombia (1996) and in Nova Friburgo, Brazil (1999), made it very clear that tropical geochemistry is of world standard and fast increasing in multi disciplinarily and impact on important geochemical paradigms. It has additionally strong links with the economy of tropical countries, such as mining and industrialisa­ tion and is in full development for treating environmental problems caused by human activities of urban or industrial origin. We must compliment Prof. Jorge Abriio and his colleagues in Brazil and Dr. Gloria Prieto and her colleagues in Colombia for these ini­ tiatives. The participation of respectively 180 and 150 scientists, coming from 15 different countries for the first and second symposia, has shown that a large interest exists for tropical environmental geochemistry. It also demonstrates the necessity to understand tropical environmental problems. The organisation of a large international symposium is not possible without the assistance of state and federal authorities, for which those of Brazil and Colombia have to be complimented. The 3rd Symposium on Environmental Geochemistry in Tropical Countries was the last of the series and was attended by 22 countries and 170 participants and treated a number of related environmental and economic problems.

Marine science today is an area of rapid expansion. Scientific activity is in­ creasing, and a growing number of scientists are involved in one or more of its disciplines. For a thorough understanding of the marine environment, for its exploration, exploitation, and management, background knowledge of more than one discipline is required. A clear need therefore exists for a concise mul­ tidisciplinary oceanographic encyclopedia. The initiative for this book was taken by the Netherlands Institute of Sea Research, NIOZ, Texel, a multidisciplinary institute, founded in 1876. The second edition of this Encyclopedia contains some 1980 entries, 210 of which in (bio)chemistry, 330 in (bio)physics, 350 in geology, and 970 in biolo­ gy, while the remaining 120 are general terms, with 60 on oceanographic expe­ ditions. Concepts, terminology, and methods of the various disciplines are briefly explained and, especially in the description of marine processes, the book tries to be more than a glossary or a dictionary. It attempts to provide a succinct overview of the major topics in marine science. Students, teachers and scientists as well as interested laymen may use it to find an explanation of oceanographic terms outside their own fields. The manuscript of the first edi­ tion was read by a variety of potential users, whose comments have been used to improve and clarify the descriptions. The second edition has benefited from the comments by several reviewers.

This preface is being written at a time of exceptional public interest in the North Sea, following media head­ lines on toxic algal blooms, the mass mortality of common seals, and concern over pollution levels. These headlines may suggest that pollution of the North Sea is a recent event. This is not the case. Although no data are available (methods simply did not exist), it is safe to assume that emission (both into air and water) of heavy metals already started to increase in the 19th cen­ tury. The growth of cities and introduction of sewer sys­ tems led to the discharge of raw sewage and sewage sludge. The introduction of man-made (xenobiotic) organ­ ic chemicals and their subsequent emission into the North Sea commenced before the second world war. The shallower and coastal areas of the North Sea receive the highest concentrations of these pollutants. Not unexpectedly, these areas - some Norwegian fjords, the Dutch coast, the German Bight - show signs of ecosystem deterioration and eutrophication. A certain percentage of the pollutants does not remain in the North Sea but is "exported" to the Atlantic. The North Sea therefore con­ tributes to the global input of pollutants to the world''s oceans. The major part of the pollutants accumulate in the North Sea and are incorporated in the bottom sediments. Although they are "out of sight", they should not be "out of mind".

This preface is being written at a time of exceptional public interest in the North Sea, following media head­ lines on toxic algal blooms, the mass mortality of common seals, and concern over pollution levels. These headlines may suggest that pollution of the North Sea is a recent event. This is not the case. Although no data are available (methods simply did not exist), it is safe to assume that emission (both into air and water) of heavy metals already started to increase in the 19th cen­ tury. The growth of cities and introduction of sewer sys­ tems led to the discharge of raw sewage and sewage sludge. The introduction of man-made (xenobiotic) organ­ ic chemicals and their subsequent emission into the North Sea commenced before the second world war. The shallower and coastal areas of the North Sea receive the highest concentrations of these pollutants. Not unexpectedly, these areas - some Norwegian fjords, the Dutch coast, the German Bight - show signs of ecosystem deterioration and eutrophication. A certain percentage of the pollutants does not remain in the North Sea but is "exported" to the Atlantic. The North Sea therefore con­ tributes to the global input of pollutants to the world's oceans. The major part of the pollutants accumulate in the North Sea and are incorporated in the bottom sediments. Although they are "out of sight", they should not be "out of mind".

Any concentration of a substance measured in a living or non-living system results from its distribution among all of the environmental compartments: air, water, sediments, and biota. The transfer of a substance from one compartment to another is regulated by physical forces and the chemical properties of the substance and also those of the compartments. When transfer processes are nearly constant in time, a substance will achieve predictable equilibria distributions. It is of utmost importance that students, environmental scientists, and policymakers understand the basic processes which control the distribution of a substance in order to interpret measurements obtained from within a limited number of compartments.

Any concentration of a substance measured in a living or non-living system results from its distribution among all of the environmental compartments: air, water, sediments, and biota. The transfer of a substance from one compartment to another is regulated by physical forces and the chemical properties of the substance and also those of the compartments. When transfer processes are nearly constant in time, a substance will achieve predictable equilibria distributions. It is of utmost importance that students, environmental scientists, and policymakers understand the basic processes which control the distribution of a substance in order to interpret measurements obtained from within a limited number of compartments.

Marine science today is an area of rapid expansion. Scientific activity is in­ creasing, and a growing number of scientists are involved in one or more of its disciplines. For a thorough understanding of the marine environment. for its exploration, exploitation and management. background knowledge of more than one discipline is required. A clear need therefore exists for a concise multidisciplinary oceanographic encyclopedia. The initiative for this book was taken by the Netherland Institute of Sea Research. NIOZ, TexeL a multidisciplinary institute, founded in 1876. The encyclopedia contains some 1850 entries, 210 of which in marine chem­ istry. 330 in physical oceanography. 350 in marine geology and 940 in marine biology, while the remaining 20 are general terms. Concepts. terminology and methods of the various disciplines are briefly explained and especially in the description of marine processes the book tries to be more than a glossary or dictionary. It tries to provide a succinct overview of the major topics in marine science. Students, teachers, and scientists as well as interested laymen may use it to find an explanation of oceanographic terms outside their own fields. The manuscript was read by a variety of potential users, whose comments were used to improve and clarify the descriptions.