Geochemical Models

Abstract Geochemical models are considered an abstract representation of natural processes of a system, usually, but not exclusively, represented by a set of master variables and described by mathematical equations. The output data of these models is a quantitative representation of an outcome that can be either observable in the natural system or subject to experimental confirmation. From this definition, the importance of defining proper boundary conditions and using reliable experimental data on models is discussed. Geochemical models may have distinct components such as chemical reactions (inorganic and/or biological), transport of chemical elements by advection and dispersion, fluid flow, and heat transport. These are the building blocks of geochemical models, which can be divided as speciation‐solubility, reaction‐path, inverse mass balance, and coupled reaction‐transport models. Finally, model validation and usefulness is briefly discussed.