Biogeochemical Cycles Flashcards
n the ecosystem help explain how the planet conserves matter and uses energy
biogeochemical cycles
store elements and recycle them
biogeochemical cycles
is important for understanding how natural ecosystems resist human-induced stresses, and also for anticipating and modeling the sustainable functioning of human-impacted ecosystems.
biogeochemical cycles
is a pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through both biotic (“bio-“) and abiotic (“geo-“) compartments of an ecosystem.
biogeochemical cycle
places where the element is accumulated or held for a long period of time.
reservoirs
gaseous cycles include
carbon and nitrogen
sedimentary cycles include
phosphorus, sulfur
hydrologic cycle include
water
accumulated excrement and remains of birds, bats, and seals, valued as fertilizer
guano
is condensed water vapor that falls to the Earth’s surface.
precipitation
most precipitation occurs as what
rain
other form of precipitation
snow, hail, fog drip, graupel, sleet
is the transformation of water from liquid to gas phases as it moves from the ground or bodies of water into the overlying atmosphere
evaporation
evaporation in lpants
transpiration
evaporation and transpiration from plants makes up
evapotranspiration
water evaporation into the atmosphere from the soil surface, evaporation from the capillary fringe of the groundwater table, and evaporation from water bodies on land
evapotranspiration
is the transformation of water vapour to liquid water droplets in the air, producing clouds and fog.
condensation
the storehouses for the vast majority of all water on Earth are the
oceans
percent that oceans supply evaporated water that goes into the water cycle
90
energy that water cycle is powered from
solar energy
process where global evaporation occurring in oceans
evaporative cooling
Without the cooling effect of evaporation the greenhouse effect would lead to a much higher/lower surface temperature
higher
is stored in the planet in the following major sinks: (a) as organic molecules in living and dead organisms found in the biosphere; (b) as the gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; (c) as organic matter in soils; (d) in the lithosphere as fossil fuels and sedimentary rock deposits such as limestone, dolomite and chalk; and (e) in the oceans as dissolved atmospheric carbon dioxide and as calcium carbonate shells in marine organisms.
carbon
how is carbon stored in the biosphere
as organic molecules in living and dead organisms
how is carbon stored in the atmosphere
as CO2
how is carbon stsored in the lithosphere
fossil fuels and sedimentary rock deposits such as limestone, dolomite, and chalk
how is carbon stored in the ocean
dissolved CO2 and CaCO3 shells in marine organisms
study the water cycle in ppt
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study the carbon cyclce
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process that chemically convert the carbon dioxide to carbon-based sugar molecules. These molecules can then be chemically modified by these organisms through the metabolic addition of other elements to produce more complex compounds like proteins, cellulose, and amino acids.
photosynthesis
Carbon is released from ecosystems as carbon dioxide gas by the process of
respiration
takes place in both plants and animals and involves the breakdown of carbon-based organic molecules into carbon dioxide gas and some other compound byproducts
respiration
contains a number of organisms whose primary ecological role is the decomposition of organic matter into its abiotic components
detritus food chain
Carbon dioxide enters the waters of the ocean by what process
simple diffusion
Carbon dioxide can be converted to once dissolved in sewater
carbonate, bicarbonate
acid formed when CO2 enters the ocean
carbonic acid
Another reaction important in controlling oceanic pH levels is the release of
hydrogen ions and bicarbonate
certain forms of sea life biologically fix what with calcium to form calcium carbonate
bicarbonate