Biogeochemical Cycle

 Energy flows through an ecosystem and is dissipated as heat, but chemical elements are
recycled.
 The ways in which an element—or compound such as water—moves between its various
living and nonliving forms and locations in the biosphere is called a biogeochemical cycle.
 Six Biogeochemical cycles important to living organisms
1. Water
2. Carbon
3. Oxygen
4. Nitrogen
5. Phosphorous
6. sulfur cycles
Energy flows, but matter is recycled.
Energy flows directionally through Earth’s ecosystems, typically entering in the form of sunlight
and exiting in the form of heat. However, the chemical components that make up living
organisms are different: they get recycled.

 Hydrosphere—the set of places where water can be found as it cycles on Earth—is large and
diverse. Water is present as a liquid on the Earth's surface and underneath the ground, as ice in
the polar ice caps and glaciers, and as water vapor in the atmosphere.

Water Cycle

 The vast majority of Earth's water is saltwater found in oceans. Only a tiny fraction is
readily accessible freshwater, which is what humans need.
 Water found at the Earth's surface can cycle rapidly, but much of Earth's water lies in ice,
oceans, and underground reservoirs; this water cycles slowly.
 The water cycle is complex and involves state changes in water as well as the physical
movement of water through and between ecosystems.
 Groundwater is found underground between soil particles and in cracks of rocks. It is
water found in the pores between particles in sand and gravel or in the cracks in rocks, and it’s an
important reservoir of freshwater. Shallow groundwater flows slowly through pores and fissures
and may eventually find its way to a stream or lake, where it can become part of the surface
water again.
 
 Aquifers are groundwater, usually the source of drinking or irrigation water drawn up
through wells. Many aquifers are being used up faster than they're renewed by water that moves
down from above.
The water cycle describes how water evaporates from the surface of the earth, rises into the
atmosphere, cools and condenses into rain or snow in clouds, and falls again to the surface as
precipitation. The water falling on land collects in rivers and lakes, soil, and porous layers of
rock, and much of it flows back into the oceans, where it will once more evaporate. The cycling
of water in and out of the atmosphere is a significant aspect of the weather patterns on Earth.

 Evaporation- the transformation of water from liquid to gas phases as it moves from the
ground or bodies of water into the overlying atmosphere. The source of
energy for evaporation is primarily solar radiation
 Condensation- the transformation of water vapor to liquid water droplets in the air,
creating clouds and fog
 Precipitation- condensed water vapor that falls to the Earth's surface. Most precipitation
occurs as rain, but also includes snow, hail, fog drip, graupel, and sleet
 Runoff- the variety of ways by which water moves across the land. This includes both
surface runoff and channel runoff. As it flows, the water may seep into the
ground, evaporate into the air, become stored in lakes or reservoirs, or be
extracted for agricultural or other human uses.
 Snowmelt-the runoff produced by melting snow
 Sublimation- the state change directly from solid water (snow or ice) to water vapor by
passing the liquid state
 Deposition- this refers to changing of water vapor directly to ice
 Transpiration- the release of water vapor from plants and soil into the air
- water enters through the roots, travels upwards through vascular tubes
made out of dead cells, and evaporates through pores called stomata found
in the leaves.
 Percolation- water flows vertically through the soil and rocks under the influence
of gravity

 When precipitation reaches Earth's surface, it has a few options: it may evaporate again, flow
over the surface, or percolate—sink down—into the ground.
Carbon Cycle
  Carbon is an essential element in the bodies of living organisms. It is also economically
important to modern humans, in the form of fossil fuels.
 Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is taken up by photosynthetic organisms and used
to make organic molecules, which travel through food chains. In the end, the carbon
atoms are released as CO2 in respiration.
 Slow geological processes, including the formation of sedimentary rock and fossil fuels,
contribute to the carbon cycle over long timescales.
 Some human activities, such as burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, increase
atmospheric CO2 and affect Earth's climate and oceans.

The biological carbon cycle

Carbon enters all food webs, both terrestrial and aquatic, through autotrophs, or self-feeders.
Almost all of these autotrophs are photosynthesizers, such as plants or algae.
 Autotrophs capture carbon dioxide from the air or bicarbonate ions from the water and use
them to make organic compounds such as glucose. 
 Heterotrophs, or other-feeders, such as humans, consume the organic molecules, and the
organic carbon is passed through food chains and webs.
To release the energy stored in carbon-containing molecules, such as sugars, autotrophs and
heterotrophs break these molecules down in a process called cellular respiration. In this
process, the carbons of the molecule are released as carbon dioxide. Decomposers also release
organic compounds and carbon dioxide when they break down dead organisms and waste
products.
Carbon’s two main forms: 
1. carbon dioxide
2. methane- produces a larger greenhouse effect per volume as compared to carbon
dioxide
- exists in much lower concentrations
- more short-lived than carbon dioxide

Oxygen cycle, circulation of oxygen in various forms through nature. Free in the air and
dissolved in water, oxygen is second only to nitrogen in abundance among uncombined elements
in the atmosphere. Plants and animals use oxygen to respire and return it to the air and water
as carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is then taken up by algae and terrestrial green plants and converted
into carbohydrates during the process of photosynthesis, oxygen being a by-product. The waters
of the world are the main oxygen generators of the biosphere; their algae are estimated to replace
about 90 percent of all oxygen used.
Despite the burning of fossil fuel and the reduction of natural vegetation (on land and in the sea),
the level of atmospheric oxygen appears to be relatively stable because of the increase in plant
productivity resulting from agricultural advances worldwide.
Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants and certain other organisms transform light
energy into chemical energy. During photosynthesis in green plants, light energy is captured and
used to convert water, carbon dioxide, and minerals into oxygen and energy-rich organic
compounds.
Nitrogen Cycle
 makes up about 78% of Earth's atmosphere by volume, far surpassing the O2
 key component of the bodies of living organisms.
 Nitrogen atoms are found in all proteins and DNA.
 Nitrogen exists in the atmosphere as N2 gas.
  In nitrogen fixation, bacteria convert N2 into ammonia, a form of nitrogen usable by
plants. When animals eat the plants, they acquire usable nitrogen compounds.
 Nitrogen is a common limiting nutrient in nature, and agriculture. A limiting nutrient is
the nutrient that's in shortest supply and limits growth.
 When fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorous are carried in runoff to lakes and
rivers, they can result in blooms of algae—this is called eutrophication.

Bacteria play a key role in the nitrogen cycle

Prokaryotes
o single-celled,
o convert atmospheric nitrogen- N2—into biologically usable forms in a process
called nitrogen fixation.
Prokaryotes play several roles in the nitrogen cycle. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil
and within the root nodules of some plants convert nitrogen gas in the atmosphere to ammonia.
Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia to nitrites or nitrates. Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are all
fixed nitrogen and can be absorbed by plants. Denitrifying bacteria converts nitrates back to
nitrogen gas.
Nitrogen gas from the atmosphere is fixed into organic nitrogen by nitrogen-fixing
bacteria. This organic nitrogen enters terrestrial food webs. It leaves the food webs as
nitrogenous wastes in the soil. Ammonification of this nitrogenous waste by bacteria and fungi in
the soil converts the organic nitrogen to ammonium ion—NH4 plus. Ammonium is converted to
nitrit—NO2 minus—then to nitrate—NO3 minus—by nitrifying bacteria. Denitrifying bacteria
convert the nitrate back into nitrogen gas, which reenters the atmosphere. Nitrogen from runoff
and fertilizers enters the ocean, where it enters marine food webs. Some organic nitrogen falls to
the ocean floor as sediment. Other organic nitrogen in the ocean is converted to nitrite and nitrate
ions, which is then converted to nitrogen gas in a process analogous to the one that occurs on
land.
Some nitrogen-containing compounds fall to the ocean floor as sediment. Over long
periods of time, the sediments get compressed and form sedimentary rock. Geological uplift
may move the sedimentary rock to land.
Human activity affects cycling of nitrogen
 combustion of fossil fuels
 use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers in agriculture
Harmful effects:
 production of acid rain—as nitric acid
 contributions to the greenhouse effect—as nitrous oxide
 Eutrophication- process in which nutrient runoff causes overgrowth, or a "bloom," of
algae or other microorganisms. This can cause the death of other organisms living in the
affected ecosystems, such as fish and shrimp, and result in low-oxygen, species-depleted
areas called dead zones.

Phosphorus Cycle

Phosphorus enters the atmosphere from volcanic aerosols. As this aerosol precipitates to
earth, it enters terrestrial food webs. Some of the phosphorus from terrestrial food webs dissolves
in streams and lakes, and the remainder enters the soil. Another source of phosphorus is
fertilizers. Phosphorus enters the ocean via leaching and runoff, where it becomes dissolved in
ocean water or enters marine food webs. Some phosphorus falls to the ocean floor where it
becomes sediment. If uplifting occurs, this sediment can return to land.

 Phosphorous is an essential nutrient found in the macromolecules of humans and other

organisms, including DNA.
 The phosphorous cycle is slow. Most phosphorous in nature exists in the form of
phosphate ion.
 Phosphorous is often the limiting nutrient, or nutrient that is most scarce and thus limits
growth, in aquatic ecosystems.
 When nitrogen and phosphorous from fertilizer are carried in runoff to lakes and oceans,
they can cause eutrophication, the overgrowth of algae. The algae may deplete oxygen
from the water and create a dead zone.

Natural cycling of phosphorous

In nature, phosphorous is found mostly in the form of phosphate ions. Phosphate compounds are
found in sedimentary rocks, and as the rocks weather—wear down over long time periods—the
phosphorous they contain slowly leaches into surface water and soils. Volcanic ash, aerosols, and
mineral dust can also be significant phosphate sources, though phosphorous has no real gas
phase, unlike other elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur.
Phosphate compounds in the soil can be taken up by plants and, from there, transferred to
animals that eat the plants. When plants and animals excrete wastes or die, phosphates may be
taken up by detritivores or returned to the soil. Phosphorous-containing compounds may also be
carried in surface runoff to rivers, lakes, and oceans, where they are taken up by aquatic
organisms.
When phosphorous-containing compounds from the bodies or wastes of marine organisms sink
to the floor of the ocean, they form new sedimentary layers. Over long periods of time,
phosphorous-containing sedimentary rock may be moved from the ocean to the land by a
geological process called uplift. However, this process is very slow, and the average phosphate
ion has an oceanic residence time—time in the ocean—of 20,000 to 100,000 years.
Sulfur Cycle

The sulfur cycle is the collection of processes by which sulfur moves to and from rock,

waterways and living systems. Such biogeochemical cycles are important in geology because
they affect many minerals. Biochemical cycles are also important for life because sulfur is
an essential element, being a constituent of many proteins and cofactors.
Steps of the sulfur cycle are:

 Mineralization of organic sulfur into inorganic forms, such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S),

elemental sulfur, as well as sulfide minerals.
 Oxidation of hydrogen sulfide, sulfide, and elemental sulfur (S) to sulfate (SO42−).
 Reduction of sulfate to sulfide.
 Incorporation of sulfide into organic compounds (including metal-containing
derivatives).

Human impact

Human activities have a major effect on the global sulfur cycle. The burning of coal, natural
gas, and other fossil fuels has greatly increased the amount of S in the atmosphere and ocean
and depleted the sedimentary rock sink. Without human impact sulfur would stay tied up in rocks
for millions of years until it was uplifted through tectonic events and then released
through erosion and weathering processes. Instead it is being drilled, pumped and burned at a
steadily increasing rate. Over the most polluted areas there has been a 30-fold increase in sulfate
deposition.

When SO2 is emitted as an air pollutant, it forms sulfuric acid through reactions with water in
the atmosphere. Once the acid is completely dissociated in water the pH can drop to 4.3 or lower
causing damage to both man-made and natural systems. acid rain  mixture of wet and dry
deposition (deposited material) from the atmosphere containing higher than normal amounts of
nitric and sulfuric acids.