Env. Sci 3-3.2 & 3-4: The Hydrosphere & Biogeochemical Cycles

Chapter 3-3.2 & 3.4 The Hydrosphere & Biogeochemical Cycles

Multiple Choice

A set of moral principles or values held by a person or a society is called

• Ethics

• Justice

• Culture

• Biocentrism

Multiple Select

An Earthworm living in the dirt is an example of which sphere(s) of the Earth?

• Biosphere

• Geosphere

• Atmosphere

• Hydrosphere

Multiple Choice

What has happened to human resource consumption in the last several hundred years?

• It has remained at the same level

• It has decreased Slightly

• It has Increased Slightly

• It has decreased dramatically

• It has Increased dramatically

Multiple Choice

Predator-prey relationships are an example of a

• System with no Feedback loops

• Positive Feedback Loop

• Negative Feedback Loop

• Destabilizing System

The Gulf of Mexico's Dead Zone

• In the Gulf of Mexico, there is a region of water that has been depleted of oxygen and can not support any life.

  • Hypoxia: Low Oxygen levels

• The Zone appears each spring and continues to grow into the fall

  • 2017: measured 22,729 square km or 7226 sq miles

• The dead zone is caused by an overgrowth of bacteria in the water that depletes oxygen

The Hydrosphere

• Water is Essential for life

• Water plays influences all other systems on Earth

• 97.5% of the water on Earth is Saltwater

  • All the ice on Earth is sometimes called the Cryosphere

• Of the remaining 2.5% of Freshwater

  • 2% is frozen in ice

  • 0.5% is available for use

    • Includes Surface Water and Ground Water

• The limited amount of drinking water is a major source of conflict between countries

The Water Cycle

• Evaporation: The Conversion of a substance from a liquid to a gas

  • Sped up by high temperatures and strong winds

• Transpiration: The release of water vapor by plants through their leaves

• Both filter out minerals and pollutants

The Water Cycle

• Precipitation: The return of water to liquid form from the atmosphere as rain or snow

  • Some water is taken up by plants

  • Some soak into the soil

  • A lot flows as runoff into bodies of water

The Water Cycle

• Condensation: A change in state from gas to liquid

  • Generally caused by a decrease in temperature

Groundwater

• When Precipitation travels to Earth, some of it soaks down into the soil

• Aquifers: Underground Stores of water

  • The maximum amount held is called the water table

  • It can take thousands of years to refill completely

• Groundwater: Freshwater found underground

Human Impacts

• Humans do several things that can alter the water cycle

  • Runoff and erosion are increased by the removal of plants from the surface

• Overuse of groundwater depletes aquifers

• Pollution increases the acidity of rain

Multiple Choice

True or False: Most of the water on Earth is Salt Water

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

A change in state in which water returns to Earth's surface and changes from a vapor to a liquid is called

• Condensation

• Transpiration

• Evaporation

• Recharge

Multiple Select

Select all of the places fresh water can be found.

• Oceans

• Aquifers

• Groundwater

• Ice

Multiple Choice

What is the major source of international conflicts surrounding water?

• Some countries Pollute more than others

• Some Countries Divert water away from other countries

• There is a very small amount of fresh drinking water available on Earth

• Evaporation happens faster in some countries

Matter

• The matter is never used up

• The Law of Conservation of Matter: Matter can be transformed from one type to another, but can not be created or destroyed

Nutrients

• Nutrients: matter that organisms require for their life processes

  • There are several dozen required for life

  • Two main groups of Nutrients

    • Macronutrients: Nutrients required in relatively large amounts

      • Carbon

      • Nitrogen

      • Phosphorus

    • Micronutrients: Nutrients needed in small amounts

• Nutrients travel through the environment in biogeochemical Cycles

The Carbon Cycle

The Carbon Cycle

• Describes the route that carbon atoms take throughout the environment

• Travels through different organisms

• Producers: Organisms that make their own food using the energy and carbon dioxide in the environment

  • Most use Photosynthesis

The Carbon Cycle

• Consumers: Organisms that eat other organisms to obtain nutrients

• Decomposers: Organisms that break down waste and dead organisms for nutrients

• Consumers and Decomposers perform cellular respiration

  • Not the same thing as "Breathing"

The Carbon Cycle

• When Organisms die, their remains may settle in Sediments and forms layers

  • Can convert tissue into fossils

  • Also holds Carbon in Fossil Fuel Deposits

  • Limestone and other sedimentary rock are the largest reservoirs of Carbon

• Carbon is released through erosion and volcanic Eruption

The Carbon Cycle

• The Oceans are the second-largest Carbon Sink

  • Absorb Carbon from

    • the atmosphere,

    • runoff,

    • undersea volcanoes,

    • the waste/Remains of Organisms

  • The absorption rate is affected by many factors

    • Temperature

    • Organisms living in the Ocean

Human Impacts on The Carbon Cycle

• We shift Carbon into the atmosphere in many ways

  • Extracting Fossil Fuels and Disturbing the lithosphere

  • Burning Fossil Fuels releases CO₂ into the atmosphere

  • Removing vegetation reduces the number of plants to absorb CO₂

• Missing Carbon Sink: Scientists still are not sure about one Carbon Sink that takes up more than 1-2 Billion metric tons of Carbon

  • Many think it is the Northern Forests

Multiple Choice

Which Organisms make their own food using energy and carbon dioxide in the environment?

• Producers

• Consumers

• Decomposers

• Chef Gordon Ramsay

Multiple Choice

Where is most Carbon stored on Earth?

• The Oceans

• Limestone

• The Northern Forests

• In Living creatures

Multiple Choice

Which Organisms break down waste or other dead organisms?

• Producers

• Consumers

• Decomposers

• Chef Gordon Ramsay

Multiple Select

Which Organisms eat other organisms for energy and nutrients?

• Producers

• Consumers

• Decomposers

• Chef Gordon Ramsay

The Phosphorous Cycle

The Phosphorous Cycle

• Involves Mostly the lithosphere & Oceans

• Phosphorous is essential to Life, but most of it is bound up in rocks and inaccessible

• Plants take up Phosphorus through the Roots

• Consumers gain Phosphorus from eating and drinking water

Human Impacts on The Phosphorous Cycle

• Phosphorus is mined for fertilizer

• Phosphorus is used in cleaning supplies to increase their power

• When wastewater with phosphorus runs off into bodies of water, it leads to eutrophication

  • An overgrowth of producers like algae and bacteria

  • can cause hypoxia in water and create dead zones

The Nitrogen Cycle

The Nitrogen Cycle

• Nitrogen is mostly bound up in the atmosphere

  • Nitrogen makes up 78% of our atmosphere by mass

• Needs to undergo a nitrogen fixation to be available for consumption

  • Lightning

  • Bacteria

  • Human technology

• Some plants & bacteria denitrify nitrates and convert them back to nitrogen gas

Human Impacts on The Nitrogen Cycle

• Now that we have the technology to fix nitrogen, our output has grown significantly

  • Necessary as a fertilizer for plants

• Nitrogen runs off and contributes to eutrophication

• Burning land & fossil fuels release nitrogen from soil into the atmosphere

Multiple Select

How is Nitrogen fixed so it can be used by other organisms?

• Lightning

• Bacteria

• Human Technologies

• By Worms

Match

Match the following macronutrient to where it is mostly found in the environment

• Carbon

• Phosphorous

• Nitrogen

In Limestone

In Rocks and The Oceans

In the Atmosphere

• In Limestone

• In Rocks and The Oceans

• In the Atmosphere

Open Ended

Based on what we have learned about the Hydrosphere and nutrient cycles, what do you think causes the Dead Zone in The Gulf of Mexico? Write a paragraph explaining your reasoning and possible solutions to the problem