Special South Africa with Brett Kuyper

South Africa is a unique location for biogeochemical processes. Oceans surround

the majority of the countrys boarders and the interior of the country is elevated.
These combine to form a myriad of biogeochemical processes, making South
Africa an important location. Biogeochemical processes are driven by
combination of biological and physical processes, resulting in the cycling of
products through the earth system. These cycling processes produce the air that
we breath and ensure that nutrients are replenished in soils and the ocean to
continue productivity.

The coasts around South Africa are, in
places, amongst the most productive in
the world. This is especially true for the
west coast. South Africa is subject to hot,
rainy summers in the interior and east
coast and cold wet winters along the
west coast. This is partially due to the
positioning of South Africa in the globe,
resting in the middle of the easterly and
westerly wind belts.

The westerly wind belts drive coastal
upwelling along the western coast of South Africa. The upwelling draws cold,
nutrient rich water to the surface, driving phytoplankton blooms. Phytoplankton
are responsible for the productivity along this coast. Biogeochemical cycling
occurs through the phytoplankton and associate bacteria. In order to grow the
phytoplankton take up phosphate, nitrate and silicate from the sea water,
depleting the ocean of these minerals. These minerals are used as part of the
photosynthetic pathway; recycling carbon dioxide to oxygen, which is released to
the atmosphere. A by product of this process is ammonia and urea from the
phytoplankton. This is re-mineralised by bacteria, cycling the nutrients back to
nitrate for use by phytoplankton.

These oceanic processes are
complimented by the thunder storms
found in the interior during the
summer months. These storms often
occur daily in the late afternoon,
lasting for many hours. A big
component of the storms are
lightning strikes. These strikes
produce a substantial amount of
nitrogen and ozone. Nitrogen is an
important component in the air we
breathe, forming the bulk. Ozone in
low to medium concentrations
oxidises pollutants in the
atmosphere, helping to keep the air clean. Too much can be a bad thing though.
The ozone is thus cycled through the system via chemical and mechanical
processes of destruction and creation.

The topography and weather systems drive these thunderstorms. In the summer
the heating of the land surface causes the air pressure to drop. This allows warm
moist air from the east coast to climb the escarpment and enter the interior. This
provides the moisture needed for the thunderstorms. In the winter the low
pressure changes to a high pressure, which caps the top of the escarpment. Thus
preventing the moisture from reaching the interior.