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Enviro.Sci - Miss lambert > 7: Biogeochemical cycles > Flashcards

7: Biogeochemical cycles Flashcards

1
Q

What is Archea?

A

A type of single-celled micro organsims that produce methane from the decomposition of organic matter.

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2
Q

What is Bioaccumulation?

A

Bioaccumulation is the accumulation and increase in concentration of a substance in living tissue as it is absorbed faster than it is excreted

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3
Q

what does biodegradable mean?

A

It can be broken down by living organisms.

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4
Q

What are biogeochemical cycles?

A

The movement of essential elements through the organisms and the environment.

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5
Q

What are biogeochemical cycles?

A

A series of linked processes which use and re use elements such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron and sulfur as they move between biotic and abiotic reservoirs.

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6
Q

What is biomagnification?

A

The The progressive bioaccumulation of a material along a food chain e.g pesticides, plastic particles, heavy metals

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7
Q

How is carbon stored underground?

A
  • carbonate rocks

- fossil fuels

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8
Q

What four anthropogenic changes to photosynthesis have affected the carbon cycle?

A
  • Deforestation increases concentration in atmosphere
  • Aforestation increases the movement of carbon from the atmosphere
  • Ice melting kills algae under ice sheets which absorb carbon
  • toxic marine pollution can kill phytoplankton which reduces the intake of carbon into the ocean.
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9
Q

What anthropogenic changes to respiration have affected the carbon cycle?

A

The carbon in dead organic matter in the soil is gradually released as co2 or methane by respiration of soil organisms (decomposers).

  • Ploughing increased oxygen supply to decomposers, increases the rate of decomposition
  • Planting rice paddies release lots of methane
  • landfill sites
  • livestock
  • removal of peat bogs

Methane gets broken up and releases carbon in the atmosphere

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10
Q

How is carbon stored in the ocean?

A
  • Calcium carbonate

- dissolved carbon dioxide

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11
Q

What processes transfer carbon into the atmosphere?

A
  • Respiration
  • Combustion of hydrocarbons
  • Decomposistion
  • Oxidation of methane
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12
Q

What processes transfer carbon out of the atmosphere?

A
  • Photosynthesis

- Carbon dissolving into the sea as carbonoic acid

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13
Q

How do you calculate residence time in a reservoir?

A

Volume in reservoir/transfer out

Transfer out will be the same as transfer in as they are in equilibrium.

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14
Q

What are hydrocarbons?

A

Fossil fuels such as gas.

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15
Q

What anthroprogenic causes are there to alterations in the amount of carbon present in majour carbon reservoirs?

A
  • Deforestation
  • combustion of hydrocarbons
  • removal of peat bogs
  • paddy feilds (methane)
  • farming increasing oxygen supply to decomposers
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16
Q

What is the circular economy?

A

The circular economy involves analysing human activities and how we can make them more sustainable, through local produce, longer life products and smaller independent businesses.

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17
Q

What efforts are being made to make the carbon cycle more sustainable?

A
  • Carbon sequestration (aferestation)
  • conservation of biomass
  • use of alternative energy
  • carbon capture and storage
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18
Q

What effect does the removal of peat bogs have?

A

Peat bogs store lots of carbon dioxide, which will be released into the atmosphere when they are degraded, removed, or if the permafrost melts.

19
Q

What is fixation?

A

Bacteria which reduces nitrogen into ammonia

20
Q

What is nitrification?

A

oxidation of amonnia into nitrites and nitrates by nitrifying bacteria in the soil

21
Q

what is denitrification?

A

Reduction of nitrates in the soil to nitrogen and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere (anaerobic).

22
Q

What is amonnification?

A

The decomposition of amino acids into amonnium ions via bateria and fungi

23
Q

Where is nitrogen stored in the body?

A
  • proteins
  • DNA/RNA (nucleotides/nucleic acids)
  • ATP
24
Q

What is the name of the process by which nitrogen based fertilisers are made?

A

Haber process

25
Q

What is an example of nitrogen fixing bacteria?

A

Azobacter

26
Q

What is an example of nitrifying bacteria?

A

nitrobacter

27
Q

How does bog draing affect the nitrogen cycle?

A

It increases the productivity of nitrfying bacteria, and reduces denitrifying bacteria

28
Q

How is nitrogen returned to the atmosphere?

A
  • incineration of sewage

- denitrifying bacteria

29
Q

How is nitrogen returned to the soil from the atmosphere?

A
  • The haber process
  • Combustion in engines makes nitrous oxides
  • Nitrogen fixation bacteria such as azobacter in plant nodules
30
Q

What is the role of ionisation in the nitrogen cycle?

A

Lightening provides energy to turn atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen into nitrous oxides

31
Q

What human activities change affect the nitrogen cycle?

A
  • haber process
  • plowing (airates the soil, increases nitrifying bacteria)
  • drain wetlands (airates the soil, increase nitrifying bacteria)
  • car enines (ionisation)
  • increase in livestock
32
Q

What conditiones do denitrifying bacteria work in?

A

anaerobic

33
Q

What conditions do nitrifying bacteria work in?

A

aerobic

34
Q

How is phosphorus returned to the rocks?

A

Uplift of marine sediments by tectonic activity

35
Q

Where do we find phosphorus?

A
  • DNA, Proteins, exoskeletons, phospholipids and guano
  • small amount in the hydrological cycle as it is not soluble
  • majourity in rocks and soil
36
Q

How may the amount of phosphourus in the soil increase?

A
  • increased weathering
  • increased leaching
  • deforestation
37
Q

How much of the atmosphere does nitrogen make up?

A

78%

38
Q

What ways can we reduce nitrogen input into the environment?

A
  • reduce combustion
  • fit catalytic converters
  • reduce fertiliser/fertiliser runoff
  • managed ploughing
  • treat sewage instead of incineration to prevent eutrophication
  • government policies
39
Q

What is phosphorus found in?

A

Biotic
-DNA, Proteins, Bones, Exoskeletons, guano (bat poo)
Abiotic
-a small amount in the hydrological cycle
-majority in rocks and soil

40
Q

Why does phosphorus move slowly through the cycle?

A
  • it is not very soluble, so takes longer to get into plants

- Doesn’t exist as a gas, so plants have to uptake through their roots, which is slower

41
Q

How does phosphorus move from the sea to the land?

A

Manly through uplift at plate boundaries

42
Q

What three factors can increase the amount of phosphorus in the soil?

A
  • increased deforestation
  • increased weathering
  • increased leaching
43
Q

What is phosphate used for by humans?

A

To make fertilizers

44
Q

How can people get additional phosphate?

A
  • by mining guano (solidified bird poo) or other phosphate-rich rocks
  • returning biomass to the soil

Enviro.Sci - Miss lambert (5 decks)

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