Chemical Cycles

Balance is essential to the earth. Chemical cycles keep the amount of elements on the earth in a perfect
balance.

Oxygen Cycle

The amount of oxygen in and around the earth is fixed. But this oxygen is fed again and again through
the world's living systems in a never-ending circle called the oxygen cycle. Our needs are just part of this
cycle. The cycle involves a continual exchange of gases between the air and animals and plants. In a
process called respiration, animals and plants take oxygen from air and give back carbon dioxide. In a
process called photosynthesis, plants take carbon dioxide from air and water and give back oxygen.
Respiration and photosynthesis are effectively opposite processes. Respiration is an oxidation reaction,
which takes oxygen from the air or from water. Photosynthesis is a reduction reaction. It adds oxygen
gas to the air. Enormous quantities of oxygen are taken in by plants and animals every day, and huge
quantities of oxygen are returned to the air by plants. These amount exactly balance so that overall the
amount of oxygen in the air stays the same.

Carbon Cycle

Carbon is essential for the chemical processes that support life. It plays such an important role in life
that sometimes we say that life is "carbon-based". But there is only a limited amount of carbon on the
earth. So carbon is constantly cycling around the earth, turning up in a lot of different forms and places.
The reactions that move carbon around make up a giant web called the carbon cycle.

Plants get carbon by taking carbon dioxide from the air. They use the carbon dioxide and the energy
from sunlight to make food. Animals get their carbon by eating those plants or by eating animals that
have eaten those plants. When organisms breathe, they take oxygen from the air. During respiration,
the oxygen reacts with food to provide energy. Respiration produces carbon dioxide which is released to
the air.

Volcanic eruptions are a source of carbon. When a volcano erupts, it releases huge amounts of carbon
dioxide. But remember--the earth needs it elements to stay in balance. So the effect of volcanoes is
balanced by weathering which is a chemical reaction between rainwater and rocks that absorbs carbon
dioxide from the air to create rock carbonate minerals. Left to themselves, these natural processes are
in perfect balance. But human activities can disturb the cycle and increase the amount of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere. This could cause problems in the future because carbon dioxide is vital for
controlling the world's climate.

Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen atoms are constantly moving in a giant circle from the air, through the soil, into the bodies of
plants and animals, and eventually back to the air. This whole process is called the nitrogen cycle. All
living things need nitrogen to develop and grow. Even though the earth's atmosphere is made up of 78%
nitrogen, plants and animals cannot use it in this form because the nitrogen atoms are too firmly bound
together in molecules. So plants must draw their nitrogen from nitrogen compounds dissolved in the
soil, and animals get their nitrogen by eating plants or by eating other animals that eat plants.
The nitrogen gets into the soil in a couple of different ways. A small quantity of the nitrogen found the
soil by way of lightning. Lightning changes atmospheric nitrogen into nitrogen dioxide which is soluble in
water. The nitrogen oxides dissolve in rainwater to form nitric acid which is absorbed by soil. The rest of
the nitrogen in soil comes from bacteria. Bacteria are the only living things capable of getting nitrogen
directly from the air. This is called "fixing". The process is started by certain kinds of bacteria in the soil
that can extract nitrogen from the air. Then other bacteria convert the nitrogen into nitrogen
compounds called nitrates, This process is called nitrification. Plants absorb the nitrates and turn them
into more complex nitrogen compounds. Bacteria also help return nitrogen to the air. Bacteria in the soil
decompose animal waste and the remains of dead animals and plants and produce ammonia. Nitrifying
bacteria turn the ammonia into nitrates. Other bacteria, called denitrifying bacteria, convert some of the
nitrates back into nitrogen gas, which is released into the air. All these different steps form a massive
cycle. The effect is that, over time, bacteria in the soil return almost the same amount of nitrogen to the
air as other bacteria take from the air. This keeps the nitrogen content of the earth and its atmosphere
in a perfect balance.

Unfortunately, humans are interfering with the natural balance when they overuse artificially produced
nitrates as agricultural fertilizers. Before these nitrates can be converted into atmospheric nitrogen, they
are often carried off from the soil by rain or irrigation. These dissolved nitrates are carried to streams
and rivers and even seep down to groundwater. In some parts of the world, water for humans and
animals contains such high concentrations of nitrates that it is unsafe for consumption. These excessive
amount of nitrates, when they reach rivers and lakes, cause too much algae to grow. This over-
abundance of algae uses up too much of the oxygen in the water. When oxygen levels fall, other forms
of life in the water die off.

Sample some of the following activities to learn more about chemical cycles.

Chemical cycling describes systems of repeated circulation of chemicals between other compounds,
states and materials, and back to their original state, that occurs in space, and on many objects in space
including the Earth. Active chemical cycling is known to occur in stars, many planets and natural
satellites.

Chemical cycling plays a large role in sustaining planetary atmospheres, liquids and biological processes
and can greatly influence weather and climate. Some chemical cycles release renewable energy, others
may give rise to complex chemical reactions, organic compounds and prebiotic chemistry. On terrestrial
bodies such as the Earth, chemical cycles involving the lithosphere are known as geochemical cycles.
Ongoing geochemical cycles are one of the main attributes of geologically active worlds. A chemical
cycle involving a biosphere is known as a biogeochemical cycle.
The atmospheric environment is integral to the major chemical cycles of Earth's ecosystems, and plays
an essential role in controlling the planet's climate. Furthermore, the maintenance of adequate air
quality is indispensable to protect human health. In this chapter, the transport and chemical processes
of the atmosphere are considered at the global scale, at which climate is controlled; at intermediate
scales, at which detailed knowledge of both weather formation and the transport of pollutants is often
essential; and at smaller scales that are often important in determining human exposure to chemicals in
urban and indoor air. The chapter builds on concepts developed in Chapters 1-3Chapter 1Chapter
2Chapter 3, highlighting similarities and pointing out important differences between the atmosphere
and both the surface water and subsurface environments. The photochemical processes that often
govern chemical fate in the atmosphere are described in detail, as are the interactions among Earth's
natural chemical cycles, the release of anthropogenic gases, and ongoing global climate change driven
by the enhanced greenhouse effect.

.4.4 Other Climate Feedbacks

In addition to carbon-cycle–related feedbacks, other chemical cycles may be influenced by, and in turn
influence, future climate change. For example, nitrous oxide, another important GHG, is produced in the
bacterial breakdown of organic matter with air–sea fluxes constituting an important source to the
atmosphere (Suntharalingam and Sarmiento, 2000). Interestingly, model studies suggest that any
benefits related to the increased sequestration of CO2 resulting from iron fertilization initiatives may be
offset by increased remineralization and release of nitrous oxide to the atmosphere (Jin and Gruber,
2003). This result could presumably apply to any increase in ocean productivity.

The ocean also releases aerosols, the rate of which is sensitive to the physical and biological
environment. Sea-salt aerosol, for example, affects cloud formation and rainfall and is sensitive to
factors including wind speed and surface temperature. Recent model experiments indicate that, in the
Arctic, as sea-ice extent reduces, there is an increase in sea-salt aerosol flux. This in turn causes an
increase in cloud albedo and an associated reduction in incoming radiation (Struthers et al., 2010). As
such, the air–salt–sea-ice interaction may constitute a negative feedback to Arctic warming.

Dimethylsulfide (DMS) produced primarily by phytoplankton emissions is a major contributor to