Let there be water: How hydration/dehydration reactions accompany key Earth and life processes#
Alberto Vitale Brovarone, Christopher J. Butch, A Ciappa, Henderson James Cleaves, Agnès Elmaleh, Manuele Faccenda, Maureen Feineman, Jörg Hermann, Fabrizio Nestola, Angelina Cordone, Donato Giovannelli
Abstract
Abstract Water plays a key role in shaping our planet and making life possible. Given the abundance of water on Earth's surface and in its interior, chemical reactions involving water, namely hydration and dehydration reactions, feature prominently in nature and are critical to the complex set of geochemical and biochemical reactions that make our planet unique. This paper highlights some fundamental aspects of hydration and dehydration reactions in the solid Earth, biology, and man-made materials, as well as their connections to carbon cycling on our planet.