7KUE0N01 - Géochimie

Course: Geochemistry

This course is an introduction to geochemistry, which can be summarized as the study of the relative and absolute abundances of molecules, elements and isotopes, to understand the fundamental processes that control the evolution of our environment. The versatile nature of geochemical tools allows addressing a very broad range of scientific and technological questions, which are all relevant to the areas of expertise and background knowledge of engineering geologists. This course will notably address/discuss the questions of, how is matter synthesized in the universe? What is the age of the Solar System, of the Earth, and how did our planet become a habitable – and inhabited – world? How does climate evolve on long (geological) and short (centennial) timescales? How can we quantify and anticipate the evolution of climate change? How do we determine the age, and erosion rate, of a landscape? How do we date aquifers? What are the possible solutions to the energy and environmental challenges? 
To tackle these questions, the lectures will address a series of topics like cosmochemistry (nucleosynthesis, Solar System formation and evolution), geochronology (radioactivity, differentiation of the Earth), biogeochemistry (biological crises and resilience), stable isotopes (water and carbon cycles at Earth's surface), in-situ and atmospheric cosmogenic isotopes, paleoclimatology, and climate change. The last lecture will be fully dedicated to the applications of geochemistry to multiple sectors of geological engineering. Each lecture lasting 90 minutes is followed by 3 hours of dedicated practical work. The evaluation is undertaken by a 3 hour-long final examination.