Water or Hydrologic Cycle

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4.

Precipitation* - Condensed water vapor that falls to the Earth's

surface. Most precipitation occurs as rain, but also includes snow,
hail, fog drip, graupel, and sleet.
Canopy interception - The precipitation that is intercepted by
plant foliage eventually evaporates back to the atmosphere rather
than falling to the ground.
Snowmelt - The runoff produced by melting snow.
Runoff* - The variety of ways by which water moves across the
land. This includes both surface runoff and channel runoff.
Infiltration* - The flow of water from the ground surface into the
ground. Once infiltrated, the water becomes soil moisture or
groundwater.
Subsurface flow - The flow of water underground, in the vadose
zone and aquifers. Subsurface water may return to the surface
(e.g. as a spring or by being pumped) or eventually seep into the
oceans.
Evaporation* - The transformation of water from liquid to gas
phases as it moves from the ground or bodies of water into the
overlying atmosphere.
Sublimation - The state change directly from solid water (snow or
ice) to water vapor.
Deposition - This refers to changing of water vapor directly to ice.
Advection - The movement of water in solid, liquid, or vapor
states through the atmosphere. Without advection, water that
evaporated over the oceans could not precipitate over land.
Condensation* - The transformation of water vapor to liquid
water droplets in the air, creating clouds and fog.
Transpiration* - The release of water vapor from plants and soil
into the air. Water vapor is a gas that cannot be seen.
Percolation - Water flows vertically through the soil and rocks
under the influence of gravity
Plate tectonics - Water enters the mantle via subduction of
oceanic crust. Water returns to the surface via volcanism.

5.

1.

Carbon enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide from respiration

and combustion.

2.

Carbon dioxide is absorbed by producers to

make carbohydrates in photosynthesis.

3.

Animals feed on the plant passing the carbon compounds along the
food chain. Most of the carbon they consume is exhaled as carbon
dioxide formed during respiration. The animals and plants
eventually die.

4.

The dead organisms are eaten by decomposers and the carbon in

their bodies is returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. In some
conditions decomposition is blocked. The plant and animal material
may then be available as fossil fuel in the future for combustion.

Nitrogen Cycle
1.

*Most important

Carbon Cycle
1.

2.
3.

Photosynthesis - Chemical process by which plants containing

chlorophyll use sunlight to manufacture their own food by
converting carbon dioxide and water to carbohydrates, releasing
oxygen as a by-product.
Respiration - The process in which oxygen is used to break down
organic compounds into carbon dioxide and water.
Decomposition - The breakdown of complex molecules
molecules of which dead organisms are composedinto simple
nutrients that can be reutilized by living organisms called
decomposers.

Weathering of rocks - Not all carbon atoms are always moving

somewhere in the carbon cycle. Often, many become trapped in
limerock, a type of stone formed on the ocean floor by the shells of
marine plankton. Sometimes after millions of years, the waters
recede and the limerock is eventually exposed to the elements.
When limerock is exposed to the natural process of weathering, it
slowly releases the carbon atoms it contains, and they become an
active part of the carbon cycle once again.
Combustion of fossil fuels - This constant burning produces
massive amounts of carbon dioxide, which are released into Earth's
atmosphere. More than half of the carbon dioxide emitted by the
burning of fossil fuels is absorbed by the oceans, by plants, and by
soils.

2.

3.

Nitrogen fixation - It is the process by which gaseous nitrogen

(N2) is converted to ammonia (NH3 or NH4+) via biological fixation
or nitrate (NO3-) through high-energy physical processes. Three
processes are responsible for most of the nitrogen fixation in the
biosphere: atmospheric fixation by lightning; biological fixation by
certain microbes; and industrial fixation by catalyst
Nitrification - It is a two-step process in which NH3/ NH4+ is
converted to NO3-. First, the soil bacteria Nitrosomonas and
Nitrococcus convert NH3 to NO2-, and then another soil bacterium,
Nitrobacter, oxidizes NO2- to NO3-. These bacteria gain energy
through these conversions, both of which require oxygen to occur.
Assimilation - It is the process by which plants and animals
incorporate the NO3- and ammonia formed through nitrogen
fixation and nitrification. Plants take up these forms of nitrogen
through their roots, and incorporate them into plant proteins and
nucleic acids. Animals are then able to utilize nitrogen from the
plant tissues.

4.

5.

1.

Ammonification It produces large quantities of organic nitrogen,

including proteins, amino acids, and nucleic acids. Ammonification
is the conversion of organic nitrogen into ammonia. The ammonia
produced by this process is excreted into the environment and is
then available for either nitrification or assimilation.

Denitrification - It is the reduction of NO3- to gaseous N2 by

anaerobic bacteria. This process only occurs where there is little to
no oxygen, such as deep in the soil near the water table. Hence,
areas such as wetlands provide a valuable place for reducing
excess nitrogen levels via denitrification processes.

3.

4.
5.

6.

Nitrogen gas is converted to nitrate compounds by nitrogenfixing bacteria in soil or root nodules. Lightning also converts
nitrogen gas to nitrate compounds. The Haber process converts
nitrogen gas into ammonia used in fertilizers. Ammonia is converted
to nitrates by nitrifying bacteriain the soil.

2.

Plants absorb nitrates from the soil and use these to build
up proteins. The plant may be eaten by an animal, and its biomass
used to produce animal protein.

3.

Urea and egested material is broken down by decomposers. This

results in nitrogen being returned to the soil as ammonia.

4.

Decomposers also break down the bodies of dead organisms

resulting in nitrogen being returned to the soil as ammonia.

5.

Higher only: In some conditions denitrifying bacteria in the soil

break down nitrates and return nitrogen to the air. This is usually
in waterlogged soil. Improving drainage reduces this effect, making
the soil more fertile.

Phosphorous Cycle
1.
2.

Erosion and Weathering These cause rocks to release

phosphate ions and other minerals. This inorganic phosphate is
then distributed in soils and water.
Mineralization and fertilization It is the process in which the
activities of microbes convert organic forms of phosphorus into
inorganic forms that can be used by plants.

Runoff - Plants take up inorganic phosphate from the soil. The

plants may then be consumed by animals. Once in the plant or
animal, the phosphate is incorporated into organic molecules such
as DNA.
Excretion and decomposition - It returns phosphates as
dissolved phosphates through death or through excretion of waste
materials from their cells or bodies.
Leaching and dissolved phosphates - Phosphates are slowly
leached (dissolved) from rocks by chemical weathering. This is
done through rain and melting snow. The water carries it into
waterways where it enters the water or aquatic phase of the
phosphorus cycle.
Marine sediments and uplift - Marine sediments containing
phosphates can remain at the bottom of a body of water
indefinitely. It comes to the surface of the earth through the
process of crustal uplift. This is a process where huge forces in the
earth cause bodies of land to rise. The rise can be so significant
that phosphate rich rocks occur in mountainous regions or any
other place on the surface of the earth.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cycle
http://www.scienceclarified.com/Ca-Ch/Carbon-Cycle.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_gateway_pre_2011/greenworl
d/recyclingrev1.shtml
http://www.fondriest.com/news/nitrogencycle.htm
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/N/NitrogenCycle.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_gateway_pre_2011/greenworl
d/recyclingrev2.shtml
http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Soil-Farming-and-Science/Science-Ideas-andConcepts/The-phosphorus-cycle
http://sciencelearn.org.nz/About-this-site/Glossary/phosphorus-mineralisation
https://www.atmos.illinois.edu/courses/atms449sp05/documents/ATMS449gLecture19.pdf