Environmental Soil Chemistry covers an introduction to the principal chemical 
constituents and processes occurring in soils and sediments. The objective of the 
course is to provide students with a conceptual framework for understanding chemical 
reactions in heterogeneous natural systems and how to apply that framework to evaluate 
human and societal interaction with soils. Applications to biogeochemistry and 
environmental quality are presented, but fundamental principles are emphasized. 
Students are expected to use these fundamental concepts of how soil chemical phenomena 
articulate in natural systems as a guide to their assessments and recommendations for 
improving agricultural soils or for remediating/restoring human-impacted soils.

1	Introduction	Math and chemistry review
		
2	Introduction	Human interaction with the soil chemical environment
		
3	Minerals	Chemical bonds and crystal structure
		        Primary minerals/clay structure
4	Minerals	Secondary minerals and chemical weathering
		
5	Organic Matter	Carbon cycling and functional groups
		        Biological components in organic matter
6	Organic Matter	Organic matter and humic substances
		 
7	Thermodynamics	 

8	Aqueous Geochemistry	
		Water and ion hydration chemistry
9	Aqueous Geochemistry	acid/base, complexation
		speciation/model and sampling methods 

10	Mineral Solubility	saturation index/meta stability
		stability diagrams/modeling
11	Redox	electron activity/redox in soils
		Predominance diagrams
12	Review/Midterm	 

13	Sorption	Overview of sorption processes and impact on society 
		        Surface charge and electric double layer
14	Sorption	Quantitative adsorption
	 	        Specific retention/modeling
15	Sorption	cation exchange
	Soil Acidity	Acid-mine drainage: The consequences of resource extraction
16	Soil Salinity/Sodicity	Irrigation in the western U.S.
	Final Review