Publication of an Earth Scientist's Periodic Table of the Elements and their Ions

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Geology (42)This project supports the publication of an Earth Scientist's Periodic Table of the Elements and Their Ions (ESPTEI). The ESPTEI is a ground-breaking change in the way geochemistry is being taught and understood. The ESPTEI is a large format (14" x 36") color document that can be seen on the World-Wide Web at http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/PT.html. Unlike the traditional periodic table where elements are organized according to the nature and behavior of elemental (uncharged) forms of matter, the ESPTEI is organized by charged forms (for example, Si4+ and S2-). The table also shows some elements multiple times to account for their multiple naturally occurring valence states. This is done because earth scientists study matter in both oxidizing and reducing conditions. Another feature of this table is the placement of contours of equal ionic potential or charge density. Finally, the ESPTEI has symbols showing the abundances of ions or charged forms in soils and in natural waters, their roles as nutrients, and their occurrences in minerals, igneous rocks, and deep-sea nodules. Those symbols largely follow the contours of ionic potential over this newly-reorganized table, allowing many trends in mineralogy, aqueous geochemistry, igneous petrology, soil geochemistry, sedimentary geochemistry, nutrient chemistry, and even atmospheric chemistry to become apparent.