Systems at the surface of the Earth are continually responding to energy inputs derived ultimately from radiation from the Sun or from the radiogenic heat in the interior. These energy inputs drive plate movements and erosion, exposing metastable mineral phases at the Earth’s surface. In addition, these energy fluxes are harvested and transformed by living organisms. As long as these processes persist, chemical disequilibrium at the Earth’s surface will be perpetuated. In addition, as human populations grow, the need to produce food, extract water, and extract energy resources increases. These processes continually contribute to chemical disequilibrium at the Earth surface. We therefore find it necessary to predict how the surface regolith will change in response to anthropogenic processes as well as long-term climatic and tectonic forcings.