chemistry

Jan Veizer

Jan Veizer is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Jan Veizer rather than just read about it. In short: Ján Veizer (born 22 June 1941) is a Slovak-Canadian geochemist. He is the Distinguished University Professor (emeritus) of Earth Sciences at the University of Ottawa and Institute for Geology, Mineralogy and Geophysics, of Bochum Ruhr University.

Key takeaways

Jan Veizer belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Jan Veizer to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Jan Veizer from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ján Veizer (born 22 June 1941) is a Slovak-Canadian geochemist. He is the Distinguished University Professor (emeritus) of Earth Sciences at the University of Ottawa and Institute for Geology, Mineralogy and Geophysics, of Bochum Ruhr University. He held the NSERC/Noranda/CIFAR Industrial Chair in Earth System Isotope and Environmental Geochemistry until 2004. He is an isotope geochemist; his research interests have included the use of chemical and isotopic techniques in determining Earth's climatic and environmental history. Born in Pobedim, Slovakia, Veizer has received the Killam Award (Canada Council, 1986), the 1987 W.W. Hutchison Medal for young individuals making exceptional advances in Canadian earth science research; the 1991 Willet G. Miller Medal for outstanding contributions in geology; the 1992 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, which carried a 1.55 million euro value, awarded for understanding of the geochemistry of sediments; the 1995 Logan Medal which is the Geological Association of Canada's highest honour; the 2000 Bancroft Award for contributions furthering the public understanding of the Earth sciences.

Cosmic rays and climate change In a letter to Nature, Veizer et al.(2000), compared the reconstruction of tropical sea surface temperatures throughout the Phanerozoic eon (the past ~550 Myr) with the variable galactic cosmic rays and concluded that their results can be reconciled if atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations were not the principal driver of climate variability on geological timescales for at least one-third of the Phanerozoic eon, or if the reconstructed carbon dioxide concentrations are not reliable. In 2003, together with Nir J. Shaviv, an Israeli astrophysicist, Veizer published a paper in GSA Today suggesting a reduced (capped) influence of carbon dioxide to climate change and attributing a more significant influence to cosmic rays. Veizer and Shaviv commented that their model on a doubled carbon dioxide content in the last century would result in a warming of 1.5 °C, according to Veizer and Shaviv in line with the minimum level of the IPCC estimate between 1.5 and 4.5 °C. However, the paper was criticized by a subsequent publication in 2004 by Stefan Rahmstorf and other climate scientists in the journal Eos (American Geophysical Union), in which the authors wrote, "The correlation of CRF [cosmic ray flux] and climate over the past 520 m.y. appears to not hold up under scrutiny".

Selected publications Veizer, Ján; Hoefs, Jochen (1976). "The nature of O18/O16 and C13/C12 secular trends in sedimentary carbonate rocks". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 40 (11). Elsevier BV: 1387–1395. Bibcode:1976GeCoA..40.1387V. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(76)90129-0. ISSN 0016-7037. Veizer, Ján; Jansen, Siegfried L. (1979). "Basement and Sedimentary Recycling and Continental Evolution". The Journal of Geology. 87 (4). University of Chicago Press: 341–370. Bibcode:1979JG.....87..341V. doi:10.1086/628425. ISSN 0022-1376. S2CID 140673989. Uwe Brand (2), Jan Veizer (1980). "Chemical Diagenesis of a Multicomponent Carbonate System--1: Trace Elements". SEPM Journal of Sedimentary Research. 50. Society for Sedimentary Geology. doi:10.1306/212f7bb7-2b24-11d7-8648000102c1865d. ISSN 1527-1404.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Veizer, Ján (31 December 1983). "Chapter 8. TRACE ELEMENTS and ISOTOPES in SEDIMENTARY CARBONATES". Carbonates. De Gruyter. pp. 265–300. doi:10.1515/9781501508134-012. ISBN 9781501508134. Veizer, Ján; Ala, Davin; Azmy, Karem; Bruckschen, Peter; Buhl, Dieter; Bruhn, Frank; Carden, Giles A.F.; Diener, Andreas; Ebneth, Stefan; Godderis, Yves; Jasper, Torsten; Korte, Christoph; Pawellek, Frank; Podlaha, Olaf G.; Strauss, Harald (1999). "87Sr/86Sr, δ13C and δ18O evolution of Phanerozoic seawater". Chemical Geology. 161 (1–3). Elsevier BV: 59–88. Bibcode:1999ChGeo.161...59V. doi:10.1016/s0009-2541(99)00081-9. ISSN 0009-2541. Veizer, Ján; Godderis, Yves; François, Louis M. (2000). "Evidence for decoupling of atmospheric CO2 and global climate during the Phanerozoic eon". Nature. 408 (6813). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 698–701. Bibcode:2000Natur.408..698V. doi:10.1038/35047044. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 11130067. S2CID 4372892. Veizer, J. (2005). Celestial climate driver: a perspective from four billion years of the carbon cycle. Geoscience Canada, 32, 13-28. Ferguson, Paul R.; Veizer, Ján (20 December 2007). "Coupling of water and carbon fluxes via the terrestrial biosphere and its significance to the Earth's climate system". Journal of Geophysical Research. 112 (D24). American Geophysical Union (AGU). Bibcode:2007JGRD..11224S06F. doi:10.1029/2007jd008431. ISSN 0148-0227. Korte, Christoph; Jones, Peter J.; Brand, Uwe; Mertmann, Dorothee; Veizer, Ján (2008). "Oxygen isotope values from high-latitudes: Clues for Permian sea-surface temperature gradients and Late Palaeozoic deglaciation". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 269 (1–2). Elsevier BV: 1–16. Bibcode:2008PPP...269....1K. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2008.06.012. ISSN 0031-0182. Shaviv, Nir J.; Veizer, Ján (2003), "Celestial driver of Phanerozoic climate?", GSA Today, 13 (7): 4–10, doi:10.1130/1052-5173(2003)013<0004:CDOPC>2.0.CO;2 Scherer, K.; Fichtner, H.; Borrmann, T.; Beer, J.; Desorgher, L.; Flükiger, E.; Fahr, H.-J.; Ferreira, S. E. S.; Langner, U. W.; Potgieter, M. S.; Heber, B.; Masarik, J.; Shaviv, N.; Veizer, J. (31 January 2007). "Interstellar-Terrestrial Relations: Variable Cosmic Environments, The Dynamic Heliosphere, and Their Imprints on Terrestrial Archives and Climate". Space Science Reviews. 127 (1–4). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 327–465. doi:10.1007/s11214-006-9126-6. ISSN 0038-6308. S2CID 119640116.

References

External links Jan Veizer, University of Ottawa Climate History Christopher Scotese Display of ancient climates on Paleomap Project

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Jan Veizer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Jan Veizer claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Jan Veizer before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Jan Veizer ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Jan Veizer

In research: Jan Veizer appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Jan Veizer in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Jan Veizer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1941 births, Academic staff of the University of Ottawa, Canadian people of Slovak descent, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Jan Veizer outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Jan Veizer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Jan Veizer means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Jan Veizer out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jan Veizer in simple terms?

Why does Jan Veizer matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Jan Veizer?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Jan Veizer.