Biogeochemical Cycle Webquest

liquid, gas

During the process of evaporation, impurities are left behind.

gas, liquid

evaporation

temperature, atmospheric pressure

As a result of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation, water travels from Earth and goes into the atmosphere, then comes back to Earth's surface.

Temperature

The amount of water on Earth is essentially constant, but it is always moving around in a cycle.

Water that flows downhill into streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes

CO2 builds their parts, such as the leaves and stems.

Products of metabolism, such as plants and animals, release CO2 in various ways directly into water or from runoff

Burning fossil fuels like oil and coal releases extra CO2 into the atmosphere

CO2 in the atmosphere is like the glass in a greenhouse. It lets hte sun warm the Earth, but keeps all of the heat from escaping into space.

0.04%

waste/organic debris

The use of fossil fuels increases CO2 levels, therefore increasing the Earth's temperature with the greenhouse effect.

A carbon molecule can be absorbed by a plant and turned into sugar, during the process of photosynthesis.

Nitrogen can be found in the human body. Nitrogen is a component of DNA, RNA, proteins, and many other molecules.

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria converts nitrogen to an accessible form for living organisms.

78%

fixation, nitrogen, ammonium

nitrate, other bacterias

ammonium, nitrate

Animals get their needed amounts of nitrogen by consuming plants.

The growth, death, and decomposition of organisms into river flows.

The industrial production of fertilizer creates a fixed or excess amount of nitrogen.

When organisms die, their bodies decompose-- bringing the nitrogen into soil or water. Bacteria alter the nitrogen into a form that plants are able to use. Other types of bacteria are able to change nitrogen dissolved in waterways into a form that allows it to return to the atmosphere.

Phosphates make up an important part of the structural framework that holds DNA and RNA together, and are a critical component of ATP.

The phosphorus cycle differs from the other biogeochemical cycles because it does not include a gas phase.

sedimentary

Through rain, phosphates are removed from rocks and are distributed through both soils and water. Plants then take up phosphate ions from the soil. The phosphates then move from plants to animals when consumers eat the producers or herbivores.

In surface waters, excessive concentration of phosphorus is considered a pollutant because it stimulates the growth of plankton and plants. Excess growth of these plants can suffocate fish and other marine animals due to the plants consuming large amounts of dissolved oxygen.

Humans can contribute to these excessive levels by cutting down tropical rain forests and through the use of agricultural fertilizers.

Earth's crust

The soil-based view focuses on rocks and soil, while the global view is everything.