Chemistry of the Ocean
The Water Cycle
The Water Cycle
Carbon Cycle Carbon is the building block of all life forms on earth Most of the carbon in the sea is inorganic trapped in vast quantities of calcium carbonate on the sea floor.
Carbon dioxide is taken in by algae and plants during photosynthesis Then returned to the water through respiration of animals and microbial decomposition
The Carbon-Oxygen Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen is essential in producing amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins Organic Nitrogen exists in three different stages and requires bacteria in order to transfer among the three. Nitrate (NO3), Nitrite (NO2), and Ammonia (NH3)
The nitrogen cycle is one of the most difficult of the cycles to learn, simply because there are so many important forms of nitrogen, and because organisms are responsible for each of the interconversions.
Nitrogen Cycle
Phosphorus Cycle Its simpler than both the nitrogen and carbon cycle Inorganic phosphorus erodes (dissolves) out of rocks and sediment Bacteria transform it into organic phosphorus as they absorb it into their cells As they die and decompose they release phosphorus back into sediment