Geochemistry and health, why geoscience information is essential

Geochemistry in its strictest sense is the study of rock chemistry and at first glance it
may seem there is little connection between the composition of rocks and human
health. However, the various rock types that make up the surface of the planet
comprise different mineral assemblages, which contain the 92 naturally occurring
chemical elements found on Earth. Many of these elements are essential to plant,
animal and human health in small doses, we all know that we need enough calcium in
our diets to keep our teeth and bones healthy, for example. We intake most of these
elements through the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. Through
physical and chemical weathering processes, rocks break down to form the soils on
which we grow our crops and raise the animals that make up our food supply. The
water that we drink travels through rocks and soils as part of the hydrological cycle
and much of the dust and some of the gases contained in our atmosphere are of
geological origin.