EAS100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 36: Nitrogen Fixation, Electricity Market, Guano

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Course: EAS100
• Professor: Daniel Alessi

Document Summary

Eas 100 lecture 36 biogeochemical cycles and populations. Biogeochemical cycles: movement of an element or compound through the biosphere and all of earth"s system, may include geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere too. Nitrogen cycle: much of atmosphere is unreactive n2, also occurs as nitrous oxide, nitrate ions, ammonia, and ammonium ions, essential to life, necessary to form proteins and dna. Phosphorus cycle: essential to biosphere, forms some of the framework for dna, facilitate energy transactions for life, usually limiting nutrient. Carbon reservoirs: atmosphere carbon dioxide and methane, hydrosphere bicarbonate, carbonic acid, and organic carbon, biosphere land and marine animals and plants as well as soil microbes, geosphere carbonate rocks, fossil fuels, graphite, diamond, etc. Industrial combustion produces nitrogen oxides smog: sewage and agriculture runoff contain high concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus, humans burn fossil fuels long-term storage reservoirs for carbon, deforestation releases carbon and removes a carbon dioxide sink.