ABSTRACT
Knowledge of the chemical properties of materials is important in several geomorphological contexts, water quality being an obvious example, but it is often necessary to know the chemistry of weathering reactions or of sediments and soils. Wet chemical methods Analysis of water directly or as extracts from soils is not always an easy task, especially when trace amounts of material are to be determined. There are two main methods: colorimetric and electrometric. The latter is by far the most commonly used as it is the most accurate and reliable. Ion-selective electrodes Analysis by ion-selective electrodes (ISE) is relatively new in analytical chemistry and is probably one of the greatest aids to geomorphological research, especially as it enables work to be done in the field. Although ISEs appear to be a cure for many field analyses of ions, they are expensive and may be less reliable in the field than the usual laboratory methods.
