Transcript BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES 2015

Do Now for Thursday, Oct. 8th
In your own words, how do the Gulf
Stream waters move and what effect
does the Gulf Stream have on the
eastern coast of the US?
First!
A word about the GULF STREAM!
The Gulf Stream is part of a
global ocean pattern called the
Warm waters from the Gulf of
Mexico travel around Florida, up
the east coast of the US and
eventually make their way to
England.
The warm Gulf Stream waters carry
with them warmer air temperatures
which result in milder winters along the
East Coast and in England.
Who discovered the Gulf Stream?
Guided Notes For the Carbon/Oxygen
Cycle and the Nitrogen Cycle
CARBON & OXYGEN CYCLE:
• Producers (Plants) take in CO2 during
photosynthesis . The carbon gets used by the
producer and is stored as food in the form of
sugars and starches.
• Consumers eat producers and take in those
carbon compounds and in turn release CO2 and
H2O as wastes.
• As both producers and consumers die,
decomposers break down the remains and
return carbon compounds to the soil.
During photosynthesis, producers release O2 gas back into the
atmosphere which is necessary for consumers to breath.
In balanced ecosystems, producers and consumers thrive. Do humans contribute to
a balanced ecosystem?
• Humans do many things that influence CO2
levels:
• Removing producers and burning fossil fuels
adds more CO2 to our atmosphere
“The Carbon Cycle”
Producers take in CO2
“PHOTOSYNTHESIS”
O2
in
Atmosphere
Make CarbonContaining foods
“sugars & starches”
CO2
in
Atmosphere
Consumers eat
sugars & starches,
release CO2
Clear woods for
lumber , burn trees,
release CO2
Humans burn oil
& other fuels,
CO2 released
Consumers die,
decomposers return
carbon compounds to
the soil & air
“The Carbon Cycle”
Producers take in CO2
“PHOTOSYNTHESIS”
O2
in
Atmosphere
Make CarbonContaining foods
“sugars & starches”
CO2
in
Atmosphere
Consumers eat
sugars & starches,
release CO2
Clear woods for
lumber , burn trees,
release CO2
Humans burn oil
& other fuels,
CO2 released
Consumers die,
decomposers return
carbon compounds to
the soil & air
NITROGEN CYCLE:
• Like carbon, nitrogen moves through the air, soil,
living things and back to the air.
• Remember, our atmosphere is 78%_N2 gas!
But we know that most living things cannot use this
“Free Nitrogen, N2.”
Free means not combined with other different atoms.
• In a process called Nitrogen Fixation, N2 combines
with other atoms to form nitrogen containing
compounds that are usable to living things.
Most nitrogen fixation is performed by bacteria on plants called Legumes.
Legumes are beans, peanuts, peas, clover and alfalfa. The roots of these
plants have nodules which are bumps on the roots where nitrogen fixating
bacteria do their job.
• The bacteria feed on the plant’s sugars and the plant gets nitrogen from
the bacteria.
• Next, plants and animals convert this fixed
nitrogen to proteins and other usable complex
compounds.
• Decomposers eventually break down these
complex compounds in animal wastes and
dead organisms.
• The process of decomposition returns simple
nitrogen compounds back to the soil.
• This process can happen many times before
simple N2 is eventually released as Free Nitrogen
back into the atmosphere.
DENITRIFICATION is the process by
which bacteria in the soil release
nitrogen back into the air.
There are many different
illustrations of the Carbon/Oxygen
& Nitrogen Cycles!
Carbon/Oxygen Cycle Game Websites
Websites: Complete I., II., III below using the following links to websites.
For online tutorial & Questions below:
http://nortonbooks.com/college/biology/animations/ch38a03.htm
For Research: http://www.open2.net/science/element/html/
For Carbon Cycle Game:
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/carbon_cycle.html