ABSTRACT
The field of geochemistry studies the distribution and amounts of chemical elements and their behavior on Earth and on the related planets. Like any science studying the material world, geochemistry is interdisciplinary: it comprises elements of physics, chemistry, and biology and uses tools developed in mathematics, informatics, thermodynamics, and the theory of systems. The basics of statistical geochemistry are virtually nonexistent, though their necessity for theoretical geochemistry is evident. An appeal to develop them was made by Grigory Aronovich Bulkin in his book Introduction to Statistical Geochemistry. The multifactor nature of Earth as a system underlies numerous degrees of freedom; because of this, it behaves like a statistical ensemble and obeys the laws of self-development, which are the fundamentals of statistical geochemistry. The trend of evolutionary development of Earth is predetermined by the laws of equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamics, as well as the law of self-development.
