engleski

Rare earth elements as tracers for different biogeochemical processes

Rare earth elements, often grouped with other critical elements, are increasingly attracting the interest of the scientific community as well as the public. The rapid increase in the use of rare earth elements (REE) for industrial and agricultural applications has intensified research in this area with the common goal to acquire new knowledge, among other things, about their chemical behavior and bioavailability. Also, the increased demand for REE implies their increasing presence in different environmental compartments. Apart from being the important components of many technical devices, information on their levels, distribution, and transportation mechanisms can also be used to understand and track numerous biogeochemical processes, natural ones as well as those influenced by anthropogenic activities. The presentation will provide an overview of the application of the group of rare earth elements in environmental studies. Their role in the biogeochemical cycle of terrestrial systems, the determination of the origin of materials in terrestrial and transitional water systems, the contributions of certain material sources in paleo- environments (eg, formation of coal deposits) as well as the use of certain elements of this group (eg, gadolinium) as a proxy for tracing anthropogenic (specifically pharmacological) inputs, will be discussed.

rare earth elements ; geochemistry ; biogeochemical processes

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