The Cycling Of Matter Flashcards
Steps through water cycle.
Water: evaporates from surface water, travels to cloud, falls as rain, snow or hail, water that falls can move through the soil and form ground water/go back to being surface water on a lake or river.
What are bio geochemical cycles?
Cycles involving living organisms and occur on Earth.
Steps through carbon cycle
Most exchanges happen through photosynthesis, making sugar (energy) from carbon dioxide. Most carbon is stored in carbon- rich deposits like fossil fuels and plant tissues.
How do humans affect the carbon cycle?
We use the carbon rich deposits faster than they can be created.
Two ways in which atmospheric nitrogen is converted into nitrates.
- Lightning causes nitrogen gas to react with oxygen and creates nitrates. They dissolve,reach the ground and enter the soil.
- bacteria are capable of fixating nitrogen. Found mostly in soil and nodules. Bacteria gives plants nitrate, it gives it sugar and the excess goes in the soil.
Denitrification process.
When bacteria breaks down nitrates into nitrogen gas and is released in the atmosphere. It’s carried out by bacteria that don’t work in oxygen. If the bacteria denitrifies too much oxygen, the lawn will lack in proteins, hence why people aerate their lawns.
How has human intervention with the nitrogen cycle impacted the ecosystem?
Municipal sewage release nitrogen to aquatic ecosystems and kills fish.
What is eutrophication?
The process by which a body of water acquired a high concentration of nutrients, especially phosphates and nitrates.
