Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
BY:
RINCY SARA ROY
INTRODUCTION
These are required by organisms for their body building and metabolism.
Matter is neither created nor destroyed but it is used again and again in
the formation of organisms and hence recycled.
In the term biogeochemical, bio refers to the biosphere. Geo refers to the
lithoshere, atmosphere and hydrosphere. Chemical refers to the various
chemicals that travel through the biogeochemical cycles.
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE
Carbon has the ability to exist in gaseous, liquid and solid forms and hence
it occurs in various reservoirs.
The producers use CO₂ (from air or water) for photosynthesis and form
glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆).
The living organisms ( plants, animals & decomposers) take O₂ from the
atmosphere and water and utilise it for respiration converting O₂ into CO₂
and water. These go into the air.
The CO₂ and water are utilised by green plants during the process of
photosynthesis and O₂ is released to the atmosphere as a by-product.
3) WATER/HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
Water evaporates from oceans, streams, lakes, soil and vegetation with
the help of sun’s energy. The amount of water vapours air can hold
depends on its temperature (warm air can hold more water than cool air).
When temperature falls, water vapours condense into tiny droplets that
form clouds or fog. Water droplets in the form of rain falls back into the
sea and over the land.
Some rain water that falls on the ground, seeps into surface soil layers and
then percolates downward into the ground dissolving minerals from
porous rocks on the way. This mineral water is stored as ground water.
Humans intervene in the water cycle in two ways:
i. When we withdraw large quantities of fresh water from water sources.
ii. When we clear vegetation from land. This increases run off, reduces
seepage and increases the risk of flooding.
4) PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
Phosphorus and its compounds do not exist in the gaseous state, in the
earth’s normal temperature and hence does not circulate in the
atmosphere.
The decay of dead animals and producers return much of this phosphorus
to the soil to streams and to ocean bottoms as deposits of phosphate
rocks.
Some phosphate returns to the land as phosphate rich manure. It happens
by slow geologic processes that over millions of year may push up and
expose the sea floor. Weathering then slowly releases phosphorus from
the exposed rocks and continues the cycle.
Hydrogen Sulphide (H₂S) gas is released from active volcanoes and the
breakdown of organic matter swamps and from anaerobic decomposers.
Sulphur dioxide (SO₂) also comes from volcanoes. Sulphate salts
(SO₄²ˉ)enter the atmosphere from sea spray.
In the atmosphere, SO₂ reacts with oxygen to produce SO₃, then reacts
with water vapours to produce tiny droplets of sulphuric acid (H₂ SO₄). SO₂
also reacts with other chemicals in the atmosphere to produce tiny
particles of sulphate salts.(These particles and droplets that fall on the
earth, along with other air pollutants can harm life.)
Human intervenes in the sulphur cycle in two ways:
i. By burning sulphur containing coal and oil to produce electric power.
ii. By refining petroleum, smelting sulphur compounds of metallic minerals
into free metals such as copper, lead and zinc and using other industrial
process.
6) NITROGEN CYCLE
The planet’s biogeochemical cycles are the mechanisms that cause the
transfer of matter.
Since the different cycles are naturally occurring, they are considered as
natural cycles.