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BASIC BIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES

A Written Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the subject Ecology (NASC 1093)

Prepared by:
Lasco, Mark Alvin T. Nofuente, Dhona Mae L. Robedillo, Daneli Caesa P. Saamong, Dawnnel G. Velitario, Ma. Beneliza B. Vitan, Cheyenne Faith L.

July 7, 2011

Table of Contents Title Page..1 Table of Contents..2 I.Planet Earth3-13 II.Biosphere14-16 III.Components of An Ecosystem.16-17 A.Abiotic Factors.16-17 i.Organic Compounds.......17-21 ii.Inorganic Substances......21-22 iii.Biogeochemical Cycle.............................................23 a.Nitrogen Cycle....................................................23-30 b.Water Cycle..................................................30-31 c.Phosphorus Cycle............................................32-33 d. Carbon Dioxide Cycles35-36 e.Oxygen Cycle36 f.Sulfur Cycle37-38 g.Mercury Cycle..38-41 iv.Climate Regime41-65 B.Biotic Factors..65 i.Producers..65 ii.Consumers.66 iii.Decomposers.66 Bibliography68

I.Planet Earth
Earth (or the Earth) is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets. It is sometimes referred to as the World, the Blue Planet, or by its Latin name, Terra. Home to millions of species, including humans, Earth is currently the only astronomical body where life is known to exist. The planet formed 4.54 billion years ago, and life appeared on its surface within one billion years. Earth's biosphere has significantly altered the atmosphere and other abiotic conditions on the planet, enabling the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer which, together with Earth's magnetic field, blocks harmful solar radiation, permitting life on land. The physical properties of the Earth, as well as its geological history and orbit, have allowed life to persist during this period. The planet is expected to continue supporting life for at least another 500 million years. Earth's outer surface is divided into several rigid segments, or tectonic plates, that migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years. About 71% of the surface is covered by salt water oceans, with the remainder consisting of continents and islands which together have many lakes and other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere. Liquid water, necessary for all known life, is not known to exist in equilibrium on any other planet's surface.[ Earth's poles are mostly covered with solid ice (Antarctic ice sheet) or sea ice (Arctic ice cap). The planet's interior remains active, with a thick layer of relatively solid mantle, a liquid outer core that generates a magnetic field, and a solid iron inner core. Earth interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon. At present, Earth orbits the Sun once every 366.26 times it rotates about its own axis, which is equal to 365.26 solar days, or one sidereal year. The Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4 away from the perpendicular of its orbital plane, producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface with a period of one tropical year (365.24 solar days). Earth's only known natural satellite, the Moon, which began orbiting it about 4.53 billion years ago, provides ocean tides, stabilizes the axial tilt, and gradually slows the planet's rotation. Between

approximately 3.8 billion and 4.1 billion years ago, numerous asteroid impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment caused significant changes to the greater surface environment. Both the mineral resources of the planet, as well as the products of the biosphere, contribute resources that are used to support a global human population. These inhabitants are grouped into about 200 independent sovereign states, which interact through diplomacy, travel, trade, and military action. Human cultures have developed many views of the planet, including personification as a deity, a belief in a flat Earth or in the Earth as the center of the universe, and a modern perspective of the world as an integrated environment that requires stewardship.

Evolution of life At present, Earth provides the only example of an environment that has given rise to the evolution of life. Highly energetic chemistry is believed to have produced a self-replicating molecule around 4 billion years ago and half a billion years later the last common ancestor of all life existed. The development of photosynthesis allowed the Sun's energy to be harvested directly by life forms; the resultant oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere and formed a layer of ozone (a form of molecular oxygen [O3]) in the upper atmosphere. The incorporation of smaller cells within larger ones resulted in the development of complex cells called eukaryotes. True multicellular organisms formed as cells within colonies became increasingly specialized. Aided by the absorption of harmful ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, life colonized the surface of Earth. Since the 1960s, it has been hypothesized that severe glacial action between 750 and 580 Ma, during the Neoproterozoic, covered much of the planet in a sheet of ice. This hypothesis has been termed "Snowball Earth", and is of particular interest because it preceded the Cambrian explosion, when multicellular life forms began to proliferate. Following the Cambrian explosion, about 535 Ma, there have been five major mass extinctions. The most recent such event was 65 Ma, when an

asteroid impact triggered the extinction of the (non-avian) dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but spared some small animals such as mammals, which then resembled shrews. Over the past 65 million years, mammalian life has diversified, and several million years ago an African ape-like animal such as Orrorin tugenensis gained the ability to stand upright. This enabled tool use and encouraged communication that provided the nutrition and stimulation needed for a larger brain, which allowed the evolution of the human race. The development of agriculture, and then civilization, allowed humans to influence the Earth in a short time span as no other life form had, affecting both the nature and quantity of other life forms. The present pattern of ice ages began about 40 Ma and then intensified during the Pleistocene about 3 Ma. High-latitude regions have since undergone repeated cycles of glaciation and thaw, repeating every 40100,000 years. The last continental glaciation ended 10,000 years ago.

Composition and structure Main article: Earth science Further information: Earth physical characteristics tables Earth is a terrestrial planet, meaning that it is a rocky body, rather than a gas giant like Jupiter. It is the largest of the four solar terrestrial planets in size and mass. Of these four planets, Earth also has the highest density, the highest surface gravity, the strongest magnetic field, and fastest rotation.[60] It also is the only terrestrial planet with active plate tectonics.[61] Shape Size comparison of inner planets (left to right): Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars The shape of the Earth is very close to that of an oblate spheroid, a sphere flattened along the axis from pole to pole such that there is a bulge around the equator. This bulge results from the rotation of the Earth, and causes the diameter at the equator to be 43 km larger than the pole to pole diameter. The average diameter of the reference spheroid is about 12,742 km, which is

approximately 40,000 km/ , as the meter was originally defined as 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the equator to the North Pole through Paris, France.[64] Local topography deviates from this idealized spheroid, though on a global scale, these deviations are very small: Earth has a tolerance of about one part in about 584, or 0.17%, from the reference spheroid, which is less than the 0.22% tolerance allowed in billiard balls. The largest local deviations in the rocky surface of the Earth are Mount Everest (8848 m above local sea level) and the Mariana Trench (10,911 m below local sea level). Because of the equatorial bulge, the surface locations farthest from the center of the Earth are the summits of Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador and Huascarn in Peru.

Chemical composition The mass of the Earth is approximately 5.981024 kg. It is composed mostly of iron (32.1%), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%), magnesium (13.9%), sulfur (2.9%), nickel (1.8%), calcium (1.5%), and aluminium (1.4%); with the remaining 1.2% consisting of trace amounts of other elements. Due to mass segregation, the core region is believed to be primarily composed of iron (88.8%), with smaller amounts of nickel (5.8%), sulfur (4.5%), and less than 1% trace elements. The geochemist F. W. Clarke calculated that a little more than 47% of the Earth's crust consists of oxygen. The more common rock constituents of the Earth's crust are nearly all oxides; chlorine, sulfur and fluorine are the only important exceptions to this and their total amount in any rock is usually much less than 1%. The principal oxides are silica, alumina, iron oxides, lime, magnesia, potash and soda. The silica functions principally as an acid, forming silicates, and all the commonest minerals of igneous rocks are of this nature. From a computation based on 1,672 analyses of all kinds of rocks, Clarke deduced that 99.22% were composed of 11 oxides (see the table at right). All the other constituents occur only in very small quantities. Internal structure The interior of the Earth, like that of the other terrestrial planets, is divided into layers by their chemical or physical (rheological) properties, but unlike the other terrestrial planets, it has a distinct outer and inner core. The outer layer of the

Earth is a chemically distinct silicate solid crust, which is underlain by a highly viscous solid mantle. The crust is separated from the mantle by the Mohorovi i discontinuity, and the thickness of the crust varies: averaging 6 km under the oceans and 3050 km on the continents. The crust and the cold, rigid, top of the upper mantle are collectively known as the lithosphere, and it is of the lithosphere that the tectonic plates are comprised. Beneath the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, a relatively low-viscosity layer on which the lithosphere rides. Important changes in crystal structure within the mantle occur at 410 and 660 kilometers below the surface, spanning a transition zone that separates the upper and lower mantle. Beneath the mantle, an extremely low viscosity liquid outer core lies above a solid inner core. The inner core may rotate at a slightly higher angular velocity than the remainder of the planet, advancing by 0.10.5 per year. Surface The Earth's terrain varies greatly from place to place. About 70.8% of the surface is covered by water, with much of the continental shelf below sea level. The submerged surface has mountainous features, including a globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system, as well as undersea volcanoes, oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus and abyssal plains. The remaining 29.2% not covered by water consists of mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, and other geomorphologies. The planetary surface undergoes reshaping over geological time periods because of tectonics and erosion. The surface features built up or deformed through plate tectonics are subject to steady weathering from precipitation, thermal cycles, and chemical effects. Glaciation, coastal erosion, the build-up of coral reefs, and large meteorite impacts also act to reshape the landscape.

The continental crust consists of lower density material such as the igneous rocks granite and andesite. Less common is basalt, a denser volcanic rock that is the primary constituent of the ocean floors. Sedimentary rock is formed from the accumulation of sediment that becomes compacted together. Nearly 75% of the continental surfaces are covered by sedimentary rocks, although they form only about 5% of the crust. The third form of rock material found on Earth is metamorphic rock, which is created from the transformation of pre-existing rock types through high pressures, high temperatures, or both. The most abundant silicate minerals on the Earth's surface include quartz, the feldspars, amphibole, mica, pyroxene and olivine. Common carbonate minerals include calcite (found in limestone) and dolomite. The pedosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth that is composed of soil and subject to soil formation processes. It exists at the interface of the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. Currently the total arable land is 13.31% of the land surface, with only 4.71% supporting permanent crops Close to 40% of the Earth's land surface is presently used for cropland and pasture, or an estimated 1.3107 km2 of cropland and 3.4107 km2 of pastureland. The elevation of the land surface of the Earth varies from the low point of 418 m at the Dead Sea, to a 2005-estimated maximum altitude of 8,848 m at the top of Mount Everest. The mean height of land above sea level is 840 m.

Orbit and rotation Rotation

Earth's axial tilt (or obliquity) and its relation to the rotation axis and plane of orbit Earth's rotation period relative to the Sunits mean solar dayis 86,400 seconds of mean solar time (86,400.0025 SI seconds). As the Earth's solar day is now slightly longer than it was during the 19th century because of tidal acceleration, each day varies between 0 and 2 SI ms longer. Earth's rotation period relative to the fixed stars, called its stellar day by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), is

86164.098903691 seconds of mean solar time (UT1), or 23h 56m 4.098903691s. Earth's rotation period relative to the precessing or moving mean vernal equinox, misnamed its sidereal day, is 86164.09053083288 seconds of mean solar time (UT1) (23h 56m 4.09053083288s). Thus the sidereal day is shorter than the stellar day by about 8.4 ms. The length of the mean solar day in SI seconds is available from the IERS for the periods 16232005 and 19622005. Apart from meteors within the atmosphere and low-orbiting satellites, the main apparent motion of celestial bodies in the Earth's sky is to the west at a rate of 15/h = 15'/min. For bodies near the celestial equator, this is equivalent to an apparent diameter of the Sun or Moon every two minutes; from the planet's surface, the apparent sizes of the Sun and the Moon are approximately the same.

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Orbit Main article: Earth's orbit Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 150 million kilometers every 365.2564 mean solar days, or one sidereal year. From Earth, this gives an apparent movement of the Sun eastward with respect to the stars at a rate of about 1/day, or a Sun or Moon diameter, every 12 hours. Because of this motion, on average it takes 24 hoursa solar dayfor Earth to complete a full rotation about its axis so that the Sun returns to the meridian. The orbital speed of the Earth averages about 29.8 km/s (107,000 km/h), which is fast enough to cover the planet's diameter (about 12,600 km) in seven minutes, and the distance to the Moon (384,000 km) in four hours. The Moon revolves with the Earth around a common barycenter every 27.32 days relative to the background stars. When combined with the Earth Moon system's common revolution around the Sun, the period of the synodic month, from new moon to new moon, is 29.53 days. Viewed from the celestial north pole, the motion of Earth, the Moon and their axial rotations are all counter-clockwise. Viewed from a vantage point above the north poles of both the Sun and the Earth, the Earth appears to revolve in a counterclockwise direction about the Sun. The orbital and axial planes are not precisely aligned: Earth's axis is tilted some 23.4 degrees from the perpendicular to the EarthSun plane, and the EarthMoon plane is tilted about 5 degrees against the Earth-Sun plane. Without this tilt, there would be an eclipse every two weeks, alternating between lunar eclipses and solar eclipses. The Hill sphere, or gravitational sphere of influence, of the Earth is about 1.5 Gm (or 1,500,000 kilometers) in radius. This is maximum distance at which the Earth's gravitational influence is stronger than the more distant Sun and planets. Objects must orbit the Earth within this radius, or they can become unbound by the gravitational perturbation of the Sun.

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Earth, along with the Solar System, is situated in the Milky Way galaxy, orbiting about 28,000 light years from the center of the galaxy. It is currently about 20 light years above the galaxy's equatorial plane in the Orion spiral arm.[136] Axial tilt and seasons Because of the axial tilt of the Earth, the amount of sunlight reaching any given point on the surface varies over the course of the year. This results in seasonal change in climate, with summer in the northern hemisphere occurring when the North Pole is pointing toward the Sun, and winter taking place when the pole is pointed away. During the summer, the day lasts longer and the Sun climbs higher in the sky. In winter, the climate becomes generally cooler and the days shorter. Above the Arctic Circle, an extreme case is reached where there is no daylight at all for part of the yeara polar night. In the southern hemisphere the situation is exactly reversed, with the South Pole oriented opposite the direction of the North Pole. By astronomical convention, the four seasons are determined by the solsticesthe point in the orbit of maximum axial tilt toward or away from the Sunand the equinoxes, when the direction of the tilt and the direction to the Sun are perpendicular. In the northern hemisphere, Winter Solstice occurs on about December 21, Summer Solstice is near June 21, Spring Equinox is around March 20 and Autumnal Equinox is about September 23. In the Southern hemisphere, the situation is reversed, with the Summer and Winter Solstices exchanged and the Spring and Autumnal Equinox dates switched. The angle of the Earth's tilt is relatively stable over long periods of time. However, the tilt does undergo nutation; a slight, irregular motion with a main

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period of 18.6 years. The orientation (rather than the angle) of the Earth's axis also changes over time, precessing around in a complete circle over each 25,800 year cycle; this precession is the reason for the difference between a sidereal year and a tropical year. Both of these motions are caused by the varying attraction of the Sun and Moon on the Earth's equatorial bulge. From the perspective of the Earth, the poles also migrate a few meters across the surface. This polar motion has multiple, cyclical components, which collectively are termed quasiperiodic motion. In addition to an annual component to this motion, there is a 14-month cycle called the Chandler wobble. The rotational velocity of the Earth also varies in a phenomenon known as length of day variation. In modern times, Earth's perihelion occurs around January 3, and the aphelion around July 4. However, these dates change over time due to precession and other orbital factors, which follow cyclical patterns known as Milankovitch cycles. The changing Earth-Sun distance results in an increase of about 6.9%in solar energy reaching the Earth at perihelion relative to aphelion. Since the southern hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun at about the same time that the Earth reaches the closest approach to the Sun, the southern hemisphere receives slightly more energy from the Sun than does the northern over the course of a year. However, this effect is much less significant than the total energy change due to the axial tilt, and most of the excess energy is absorbed by the higher proportion of water in the southern hemisphere. Moon Characteristics Diameter Mass 3,474.8 km 7.3491022 kg

Semi-major axis 384,400 km Orbital period 27 d 7 h 43.7 m

The Moon is a relatively large, terrestrial, planet-like satellite, with a diameter about one-quarter of the Earth's. It is the largest moon in the Solar System relative to the size of its planet, although Charon is larger relative to the

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dwarf planet Pluto. The natural satellites orbiting other planets are called "moons" after Earth's Moon. The gravitational attraction between the Earth and Moon causes tides on Earth. The same effect on the Moon has led to its tidal locking: its rotation period is the same as the time it takes to orbit the Earth. As a result, it always presents the same face to the planet. As the Moon orbits Earth, different parts of its face are illuminated by the Sun, leading to the lunar phases; the dark part of the face is separated from the light part by the solar terminator. Because of their tidal interaction, the Moon recedes from Earth at the rate of approximately 38 mm a year. Over millions of years, these tiny modifications and the lengthening of Earth's day by about 23 s a yearadd up to significant changes. During the Devonian period, for example, (approximately 410 million years ago) there were 400 days in a year, with each day lasting 21.8 hours.

The Moon may have dramatically affected the development of life by moderating the planet's climate. Paleontological evidence and computer simulations show that Earth's axial tilt is stabilized by tidal interactions with the Moon. Some theorists believe that without this stabilization against the torques applied by the Sun and planets to the Earth's equatorial bulge, the rotational axis might be chaotically unstable, exhibiting chaotic changes over millions of years, as appears to be the case for Mars. Viewed from Earth, the Moon is just far enough away to have very nearly the same apparent-sized disk as the Sun. The angular size (or solid angle) of these two bodies match because, although the Sun's diameter is about 400 times as large as the Moon's, it is also 400 times more distant. This allows total and annular solar eclipses to occur on Earth.

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The most widely accepted theory of the Moon's origin, the giant impact theory, states that it formed from the collision of a Mars-size protoplanet called Theia with the early Earth. This hypothesis explains (among other things) the Moon's relative lack of iron and volatile elements, and the fact that its composition is nearly identical to that of the Earth's crust. Earth has at least five co-orbital asteroids, including 3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29. As of 2011, there are 931 operational, man-made satellites orbiting the Earth.

II.BIOSPHERE
The biosphere is the biological component of earth systems, which also include the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and other "spheres" (e.g. cryosphere, anthrosphere, etc.). The biosphere includes all living organisms on earth, together with the dead organic matter produced by them.

The "spheres" of earth systems. (Source: Institute for Computational Earth System Science) The biosphere concept is common to many scientific disciplines including astronomy, geophysics, geology, hydrology, biogeography and evolution, and is a core concept in ecology, earth science and physical geography. A key component of earth systems, the biosphere interacts with and exchanges matter and energy with the other spheres, helping to drive the global biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and other elements. From an ecological point of view, the biosphere is the "global

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ecosystem", comprising the totality of biodiversity on earth and performing all manner of biological functions, including photosynthesis, respiration,

decomposition, nitrogen fixation and denitrification. The biosphere is dynamic, undergoing strong seasonal cycles in primary productivity and the many biological processes driven by the energy captured by photosynthesis. Seasonal cycles in solar irradiation of the hemispheres is the main driver of this dynamic, especially by its strong effect on terrestrial primary productivity in the temperate and boreal biomes, which essentially cease productivity in the winter time. The biosphere has evolved since the first single-celled organisms originated 3.5 billion years ago under atmospheric conditions resembling those of our neighboring planets Mars and Venus, which have atmospheres composed primarily of carbon dioxide. Billions of years of primary production by plants released oxygen from this carbon dioxide and deposited the carbon in sediments, eventually producing the oxygen-rich atmosphere we know today. Free oxygen, both for breathing (O2, respiration) and in the stratospheric ozone (O3) that protects us from harmful UV radiation, has made possible life as we know it while transforming the chemistry of earth systems forever. As a result of long-term interactions between the biosphere and the other earth systems, there is almost no part of the earth's surface that has not been profoundly altered by living organisms. The earth is a living planet, even in terms of its physics and chemistry. A concept related to, but different from, that of the biosphere, is the Gaia hypotheses, which posits that living organisms have and continue to transform earth systems for their own benefit. History of the Biosphere Concept The term "biosphere" originated with the geologist Eduard Suess in 1875, who defined it as "the place on earth's surface where life dwells". Vladimir I. Vernadsky first defined the biosphere in a form resembling its current ecological usage in his long-overlooked book of the same title, originally published in 1926. It is Vernadsky's work that redefined ecology as the science of the biosphere and placed the biosphere concept in its current central position in earth systems science.

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The Biosphere in Education

Levels of organization of Ecology, highlighting the Biosphere. (Credit: Erle Ellis)

The biosphere is a core concept within Biology and Ecology, where it serves as the highest level of biological organization, which begins with parts of cells and proceed to populations, species, ecoregions, biomes and finally, the biosphere. Global patterns of biodiversity within the biosphere are described using biomes. In earth science, the biosphere represents the role of living organisms and their remains in controlling and interacting with the other spheres in the global biogeochemical cycles and energy budgets. The biosphere plays a central role in the biogeochemical processing of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and other elements. As a result, biogeochemical processes such as photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation are critical to understanding the chemistry and physics of earth systems as a whole. The physical properties of the biosphere in terms of its surface reflectance (albedo) and exchange of heat and moisture with the atmosphere are also critical for understanding global circulation of heat and moisture and therefore climate. Alterations in both the physics (albedo, heat exchange) and chemistry (carbon dioxide, methane, etc.) of earth systems by the biosphere are fundamental in understanding anthropogenic global warming.

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III. COMPONENTS OF AN ECOSYSTEM A. ABIOTIC COMPONENTS

The way in which plants and animals grow and carry out their different activities is a result of several abiotic factors. These factors are light, temperature, water, atmospheric gases, wind as well as soil (edaphic) and physiographic (nature of land surface) factors. The abiotic components of a grassland ecosystem are the non-living features of the ecosystem that the living organisms depend on. Each abiotic component influences the number and variety of plants that grow in an ecosystem, which in turn has an influence on the variety of animals that live there. The four major abiotic components are: climate, parent material and soil, topography, and natural disturbances. The sun, which drives the water cycle, heats water in oceans and seas. Water evaporates as water into vapor into water the air. Ice

and snow cansublimate directly

vapor. Evapotranspiration is

water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmosphere where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into clouds. Air currents move water vapor around the globe, cloud particles collide, grow, and fall out of the sky as precipitation. Some precipitation falls as snow or hail, and can accumulate as ice caps and glaciers, which can store frozen water for thousands of years. Snowpacks can thaw and melt, and the melted water flows over land as snowmelt. Most water falls back into the oceans or onto land as rain, where the water flows over the ground as surface runoff. A portion of runoff enters rivers in valleys in the landscape, with streamflow moving water towards the oceans. Runoff and groundwater are stored as freshwater in lakes. Not all runoff flows into rivers, much of it soaks into the ground as infiltration. Some water infiltrates deep into the ground and replenishes aquifers, which store freshwater for long periods of time. Some infiltration stays close to the land surface and can seep back into surface-water bodies (and the ocean) as groundwater discharge. Some groundwater finds openings in the land surface and comes out as freshwater springs. Over time, the water returns to the ocean, where our water cycle started.

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i.ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
Organic Compounds are synthesize products utilized by producers that will be source of nutrients of consumers and decomposers. ( Carbohydrates, protein, lipids and humic substances). Humus is a brown or black organic substances consisting of decayed vegetable and animal matter that provide nutrients for plants and increase the ability of soil to retain water. An ecosystem is a community of organisms that interact with each other and with the abiotic and biotic factors in their environment. Abiotic factors are chemical and physical factors such as temperature, soil composition, and climate, along with the amount of sunlight, salinity, and pH. Biotic means living, and biotic factors are the other, living parts of the ecosystem with which an organism must interact. The biotic factors with which an organism interacts depend on whether it is a producer, a consumer, or a decomposer. Producers are also known as autotrophs, or self-feeders. Producers manufacture the organic compounds that they use as sources of energy and nutrients. Most producers are green plants or algae that make organic compounds through photosynthesis. This process begins when sunlight is absorbed by chlorophyll and other pigments in the plant. The plants use energy from sunlight to combine carbon dioxide from the atmosphere with water from the soil to make carbohydrates, starches, and cellulose. This process converts the energy of sunlight into energy stored in chemical bonds with oxygen as a by-product. This stored energy is the direct or indirect source of energy for all organisms in the ecosystem. A few producers, including specialized bacteria, can extract inorganic compounds from the environment and convert them to organic nutrients in the absence of sunlight. This process is called chemosynthesis. In some places on the floor of the deep ocean where sunlight can never reach, hydrothermal vents pour out boiling hot water suffused with hydrogen sulfide gas. Specialized bacteria use the heat to convert this mixture into the nutrients they need. Only producers can make their own food. They also provide food for the consumers and decomposers. The producers are the source of the energy that drives the entire ecosystem. Organisms that get their energy by feeding on other organisms are called heterotrophs, or other-feeders.

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Some consumers feed on living plants and animals. Others, called detrivores, get their energy from dead plant and animal matter, called detritus. The detrivores are further divided into detritus feeders and decomposers. The detritus feeders consume dead organisms and organic wastes directly. Decomposers break the complex organic compounds into simpler molecules, harvesting the energy in the process. The survival of any individual organism in an ecosystem depends on how matter and energy flow through the system and through the body of the organism. Organisms survive through a combination of matter recycling and the one-way flow of energy through the system. The biotic factors in an ecosystem are the other organisms that exist in that ecosystem. How they affect an individual organism depends on what type of organism it is. The other organisms (biotic factors) can include predators, parasites, prey, symbionts, or competitors. A predator regards the organism as a source of energy and matter to be recycled. A parasite is a type of consumer organism. As a consumer, it does not make its own food. It gets its food (energy and matter to be recycled) from its host. The organism's prey is a source of energy and matter. A symbiont is a factor that does not provide energy to the organism, but somehow aids the organism in obtaining energy or matter from the ecosystem. Finally, a competitor reduces the organism's ability to harvest energy or matter to be recycled. The distribution and abundance of an organism will be affected by its interrelationships with the biotic environment. Humans are one of the few organisms that can control how the other biotic factors affect them. Humans are omnivores, consuming both producers and other consumers. Humans can also adjust the length of the food chain as needed. For example, humans who must deal with shortages of food resources usually alter their eating habits to be closer to the energy source. This is sometimes called eating lower on the food chain. Since approximately 90 percent of the energy available at each level of the food chain is lost to the next higher level, shortening the food chain saves energy and uses food more efficiently. Humans are also biotic factors in ecosystems. Other organisms are

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affected by human actions, often in adverse ways. We compete with some organisms for resources, prey on other organisms, and alter the environment of still others.

Organic compounds are the complex compounds of carbon. Because carbon atoms bond to one another easily, the basis of most organic compounds is comprised of carbon chains that vary in length and shape. Hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms are the most common atoms that are generally attached to the carbon atoms. Each carbon atom has 4 as its valence number which increases the complexity of the compounds that are formed. Since carbon atoms are able to create double and triple bonds with other atoms, it further also raises the likelihood for variation in the molecular make-up of organic compounds. All living things are composed of intricate systems of inorganic and organic compounds. For example, there are many kinds of organic compounds that are found in nature, such as hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are the molecules that are formed when carbon and hydrogen combine. They are not soluble in water and easily distribute. There are also aldehydes the molecular association of a double-bonded oxygen molecule and a carbon atom. There are many classes of organic compounds. Originally, they were believed to come from living organisms only. However, in the mid-1800s, it became clear that they could also be created from simple inorganic proteins. Yet, many of the organic compounds are associated with basic processes of life, such as carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. Carbohydrates are hydrates of carbon and include sugars. They are quite numerous and fill a number of roles for living organisms. For example, carbohydrates are responsible for storing and transporting energy, maintaining the structure of plants and animals, and in helping the functioning of the immune system, blood clotting, and fertilization to name just a few. Proteins are a class of organic compounds that are comprised of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. Proteins are soluble in water. The protein itself is composed of subunits called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids found in nature organisms can convert them from one to another for all but

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eight of the amino acids. Lipids comprise a class of organic compounds that are insoluble in water or other polar solvents; however, they are soluble in organic solvents. Lipids are made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and a variable of other elements. Lipids store energy, protect internal organs, provide insulation in frigid temperatures, among other features. Lipids can be broken down into several groups ranging from triglycerides, steroids, waxes, and phospholipids. Nucleic acids are another group of organic compounds. They are universal in all living organisms. In fact, they are found in cells and viruses. Some people may not consider a virus to be a living thing. Friedrich Miescher discovered nucleic acids in 1871. Organic compounds may be classified in a variety of ways. One major distinction is between natural and synthetic compounds. Organic compounds can also be classified or subdivided by the presence of heteroatoms, e.g. organometallic compounds which feature bonds between carbon and a metal, and organophosphorus compounds which feature bonds between carbon and a phosphorus. Another distinction, based upon the size of organic compounds, distinguishes between small molecules and polymers. >Natural compounds - refer to those that are produced by plants or animals. Many of these are still extracted from natural sources because they would be far too expensive to be produced artificially. Examples include most sugars, some alkaloids and terpenoids, certain nutrients such as vitamin B12, and in general, those natural products with large or stereoisometrically complicated molecules present in reasonable concentrations in living organisms. >Synthetic compounds - Compounds that are prepared by reaction of other compounds are referred to as "synthetic". They may be either compounds that already are found in plants or animals (semi-synthetic compounds), or those that do not occur naturally. Most polymers (a category which includes all plastics and rubbers), are organic synthetic or semi-synthetic compound.

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Ii.Inorganic Substances

*Chemical compounds that do not contain carbon as the principal element (excepting carbonates, cyanides, and cyanates), that is, matter other than plant or animal. Traditionally, inorganic compounds are considered to be of a mineral, not biological origin. Complementarily, most organic compounds are traditionally viewed as being of biological origin. Over the past century, the precise classification of inorganic vs organic compounds has become less important to scientists, primarily because the majority of known compounds are synthetic and not of natural origin. Furthermore, most compounds considered the purview of modern inorganic chemistry contain organic ligands. The fields

of organometallic chemistry andbioinorganic chemistry explicitly focus on the areas between the fields of organic, biological, and inorganic chemistry. Inorganic compounds can be formally defined with reference to what they are notorganic compounds. Organic compounds contain carbon bonds in which at least one carbon atom is covalently linked to an atom of another type (commonly hydrogen, oxygen or nitrogen). Some carbon-containing compounds are traditionally considered inorganic. When considering inorganic chemistry and life, it is useful to recall that many species in nature are not compounds per se, but are ions. Sodium, chloride, and phosphate ions are essential for life, as are some inorganic molecules such as carbonic

acid, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water and oxygen. Aside from these simple ions and molecules, virtually all compounds covered by bioinorganic chemistry contain carbon and can be considered organic or organometallic. Furthermore it is any substance in which two or more chemical elements other than carbon are combined, nearly always in definite proportions (see bonding), as well as some compounds containing carbon but lacking carbon-carbon bonds (e.g.,carbonates, cyanides). Inorganic compounds may be classified by the elements or groups they contain (e.g., oxides, sulfates). The major classes of inorganic polymers are silicones, silanes, silicates, and borates. Coordination compounds (or complexes), an important subclass of inorganic compounds, consist of molecules with a central metal atom (usually a transition

23

element) bonded to one or more nonmetallic ligands (inorganic, organic, or both) and are often intensely coloured

Inorganic Carbon Compounds Many compounds that contain carbon are considered inorganic; for example, carbon monoxide, carbondioxide, carbonates, cyanides,cyanates, carbides, and thyocyanates. In general, however, the workers in these areas are not concerned about strict definitions.

iii.BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
In ecology, a biogeochemical cycle is a circuit or pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through both biotic ("bio-") and abiotic ("geo-") compartments of an ecosystem. In effect, the element is recycled, although in some such cycles there may be places (called "sinks") where the element is accumulates for a long period of time. All chemical elements occurring in organisms are part of biogeochemical cycles. In addition to being a part of living organisms, these chemical elements also cycle through abiotic factors of ecosystems, such as water (hydrosphere), land (lithosphere), and air (atmosphere); the living factors of the planet can be referred to collectively as the biosphere. The biogeochemical cycles provide a clear demonstration of one of the fundamental principles of biological systems: The harmonious interactions between organisms and their environment, both biotically and abiotically. All the chemicals, nutrients, or elements used in ecosystems by living organisms such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorusoperate on a closed system, which means that these chemicals are recycled, instead of lost, as they would be in an open system. The energy of an ecosystem occurs in an open system; the sun constantly gives the planet energy in the form of light, which is eventually used and lost in the form of heat, throughout the trophic levels of a food web. Although components of the biogeochemical cycle are not completely lost, they can be held for long periods of time in one place. This place is called

24

a reservoir, which, for example, includes such things as coal deposits that are storing carbon for a long period of time. When chemicals are held for only short periods of time, they are being held in exchange pools. Generally, reservoirs are abiotic factors while exchange pools are biotic factors. Examples of exchange pools include plants and animals, which temporarily use carbon in their systems and release it back into a particular reservoir. Carbon is held for a relatively short time in plants and animals when compared to coal deposits. The amount of time that a chemical is held in one place is called its residence time. The most well-known and important biogeochemical cycles include the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, the oxygen cycle, the phosphorus cycle, and the water cycle. Biogeochemical cycles always involve equilibrium states: A balance in the cycling of the element between compartments. However, overall balance may involve compartments distributed on a global scale.

a.Nitrogen Cycles

Schematic

representation

of

the

flow

of

nitrogen

through

the

environment. The importance of bacteria in the cycle is immediately recognized as being a key element in the cycle, providing different forms of nitrogen compounds assimilable by higher organisms. The nitrogen cycle is the process by which nitrogen is converted between its various chemical forms. This transformation can be carried out via both biological and non-biological processes. Important processes in the nitrogen cycle include fixation, mineralization, nitrification, and denitrification. The

25

majority of Earth's atmosphere (approximately 78%) is nitrogen, making it the largest pool of nitrogen. However, atmospheric nitrogen has limited availability for biological use, leading to a scarcity of usable nitrogen in many types of ecosystems. The nitrogen cycle is of particular interest to ecologists because nitrogen availability can affect the rate of key ecosystem processes, including primary production and decomposition. Human activities such as fossil fuel combustion, use of artificial nitrogen fertilizers, and release of nitrogen in wastewater have dramatically altered the global nitrogen cycle.

Ecological function Nitrogen is essential for many processes; it is crucial for any life on Earth. It is a component in all amino acids, is incorporated into proteins, and is present in the bases that make up nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA. In plants, much of the nitrogen is used in chlorophyll molecules, which are essential for photosynthesis and further growth. Although Earths atmosphere is an abundant source of nitrogen, most is relatively unusable by plants. Chemical processing, or natural fixation (through processes such as bacterial conversionsee rhizobium), are necessary to convert gaseous nitrogen into forms usable by living organisms, which makes nitrogen a crucial component of food production. The abundance or scarcity of this "fixed" form of nitrogen, (also known as reactive nitrogen), dictates how much food can be grown on a piece of land.

The processes of the nitrogen cycle Nitrogen is present in the environment in a wide variety of chemical forms including organic nitrogen, ammonium (NH4+), nitrite (NO2-), nitrate (NO3-), and nitrogen gas (N2). The organic nitrogen may be in the form of any living organism, or humus, and in the intermediate products of organic matter decomposition or humus built up. The processes of the nitrogen cycle transform nitrogen from one chemical form to another. Many of the processes are carried out by microbes either to produce energy or to accumulate nitrogen in the form needed for growth. The diagram above shows how these processes fit together to form the nitrogen cycle.

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Nitrogen fixation Atmospheric nitrogen must be processed, or "fixed" (see page on nitrogen fixation), to be used by plants. Some fixation occurs in lightning strikes, but most fixation is done by free-living or symbiotic bacteria. These bacteria have the nitrogenase enzyme that combines gaseous nitrogen with hydrogen to produce ammonia, which is then further converted by the bacteria to make their own organic compounds. Most biological nitrogen fixation occurs by the activity of Mo-nitrogenase, found in a wide variety of bacteria and some Archaea. Monitrogenase is a complex two component enzyme that contains multiple metalcontaining prosthetic groups. Some nitrogen fixing bacteria, such as Rhizobium, live in the root nodules of legumes (such as peas or beans). Here they form a mutualistic relationship with the plant, producing ammonia in exchange for carbohydrates. Nutrient-poor soils can be planted with legumes to enrich them with nitrogen. A few other plants can form such symbioses. Today, about 30% of the total fixed nitrogen is Conversion of N2 The conversion of nitrogen (N2) from the atmosphere into a form readily available to plants and hence to animals and humans is an important step in the nitrogen cycle, which distributes the supply of this essential nutrient. There are four ways to convert N2 (atmospheric nitrogen gas) into more chemically reactive forms[ 1. Biological fixation: some symbiotic bacteria (most often associated with leguminous plants) and some free-living bacteria are able to fix nitrogen as organic nitrogen. An example of mutualistic nitrogen fixing bacteria are the Rhizobium bacteria, which live in legume root nodules. These species are diazotrophs. An example of the free-living bacteria is Azotobacter. 2. Industrial N-fixation: Under great pressure, at a temperature of 600 C, and with the use of an iron catalyst, atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen (usually derived from natural gas or petroleum) can be combined to form ammonia (NH3). In the Haber-Bosch process, N2 is converted together with hydrogen gas (H2) into ammonia (NH3), which is used to make fertilizer and explosives.

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3. Combustion of fossil fuels: automobile engines and thermal power plants, which release various nitrogen oxides (NOx). 4. Other processes: In addition, the formation of NO from N2 and O2 due to photons and especially lightning, can fix nitrogen. Assimilation Plants get nitrogen from the soil, by absorption of their roots in the form of either nitrate ions or ammonium ions. All nitrogen obtained by animals can be traced back to the eating of plants at some stage of the food chain. Plants can absorb nitrate or ammonium ions from the soil via their root hairs. If nitrate is absorbed, it is first reduced to nitrite ions and then ammonium ions for incorporation into amino acids, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll. In plants that have a mutualistic relationship with rhizobia, some nitrogen is assimilated in the form of ammonium ions directly from the nodules. Animals, fungi, and other heterotrophic organisms obtain nitrogen as amino acids, nucleotides and other small organic molecules. Ammonification When a plant or animal dies, or an animal expels waste, the initial form of nitrogen is organic. Bacteria, or fungi in some cases, convert the organic nitrogen within the remains back into ammonium (NH4+), a process called ammonification or mineralization. Enzymes Involved:
y y

GS: Gln Synthetase (Cytosolic & PLastid) GOGAT: Glu 2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase (Ferredoxin & NADH dependent)

GDH: Glu Dehydrogenase:

o o

Minor Role in ammonium assimilation. Important in amino acid catabolism.

Nitrification The conversion of ammonium to nitrate is performed primarily by soil-living bacteria and other nitrifying bacteria. The primary stage of nitrification, the oxidation of ammonium (NH4+) is performed by bacteria such as the Nitrosomonas species, which converts ammonia to nitrites (NO2-). Other

28

bacterial species, such as the Nitrobacter, are responsible for the oxidation of the nitrites into nitrates (NO3-). It is important for the nitrites to be converted to nitrates because accumulated nitrites are toxic to plant life. Due to their very high solubility, nitrates can enter groundwater. Elevated nitrate in groundwater is a concern for drinking water use because nitrate can interfere with blood-oxygen levels in infants and cause methemoglobinemia or blue-baby syndrome.[6] Where groundwater recharges stream flow, nitrateenriched groundwater can contribute to eutrophication, a process leading to high algal, especially blue-green algal populations and the death of aquatic life due to excessive demand for oxygen. While not directly toxic to fish life like ammonia, nitrate can have indirect effects on fish if it contributes to this eutrophication. Nitrogen has contributed to severe eutrophication problems in some water bodies. As of 2006, the application of nitrogen fertilizer is being increasingly controlled in Britain and the United States. This is occurring along the same lines as control of phosphorus fertilizer, restriction of which is normally considered essential to the recovery of eutrophied waterbodies.

Denitrification Denitrification is the reduction of nitrates back into the largely inert nitrogen gas (N2), completing the nitrogen cycle. This process is performed by bacterial species such as Pseudomonas and Clostridium in anaerobic conditions[ They use the nitrate as an electron acceptor in the place of oxygen during respiration. These facultatively anaerobic bacteria can also live in aerobic conditions. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation In this biological process, nitrite and ammonium are converted directly into elemental nitrogen (N2) gas. This process makes up a major proportion of elemental nitrogen conversion in the oceans. Human influences on the nitrogen cycle Main article: Human impacts on the nitrogen cycle

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As a result of extensive cultivation of legumes (particularly soy, alfalfa, and clover), growing use of the Haber-Bosch process in the creation of chemical fertilizers, and pollution emitted by vehicles and industrial plants, human beings have more than doubled the annual transfer of nitrogen into biologicallyavailable forms. In addition, humans have significantly contributed to the transfer of nitrogen trace gases from Earth to the atmosphere, and from the land to aquatic systems. Human alterations to the global nitrogen cycle are most intense in developed countries and in Asia, where vehicle emissions and industrial agriculture are highest. N2O (nitrous oxide) has risen in the atmosphere as a result of agricultural fertilization, biomass burning, cattle and feedlots, and other industrial sources. N2O has deleterious effects in the stratosphere, where it breaks down and acts as a catalyst in the destruction of atmospheric ozone. N2O in the atmosphere is a greenhouse gas, currently the third largest contributor to global warming, after carbon dioxide and methane. While not as abundant in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, for an equivalent mass, nitrous oxide is nearly 300 times more potent in its ability to warm the planet. NH3 (ammonia) in the atmosphere has tripled as the result of human activities. It is a reactant in the atmosphere, where it acts as an aerosol, decreasing air quality and clinging on to water droplets, eventually resulting in nitric acid (HNO3) acid rain. Atmospheric NH3 and HNO3 damage respiratory systems. All forms of high-temperature combustion have contributed to a 6 or 7 fold increase in NOx flux to the atmosphere. It is a function of combustion temperature - the higher the temperature, the more NOx is produced. Fossil fuel combustion is a primary contributor, but so are biofuels and even burning hydrogen. The higher combustion temperature of hydrogen produces more NOx than natural gas combustion. The very-high temperature of lightning produces small amounts of NOx, NH3, and HNO3. NH3 and NOx actively alter atmospheric chemistry. They are precursors of tropospheric (lower atmosphere) ozone production, which contributes to smog, acid rain, damages plants and increases nitrogen inputs to ecosystems.[2] Ecosystem processes can increase with nitrogen fertilization, but anthropogenic

30

input can also result in nitrogen saturation, which weakens productivity and can damage the health of plants, animals, fish, and humans. Decreases in biodiversity can also result if higher nitrogen availability increases nitrogen-demanding grasses, causing a degradation of nitrogen-poor, species diverse heathlands. Wastewater treatment Onsite sewage facilities such as septic tanks and holding tanks release large amounts of nitrogen into the environment by discharging through a drainfield into the ground. Microbial activity consumes the nitrogen and other contaminants in the wastewater. However, in certain areas, the soil is unsuitable to handle some or all of the wastewater, and, as a result, the wastewater with the contaminants enters the aquifers. These contaminants accumulate and eventually end up in drinking water. One of the contaminants concerned about the most is nitrogen in the form of nitrates. A nitrate concentration of 10 ppm (parts per million) or 10 milligrams per liter is the current EPA limit for drinking water and typical household wastewater can produce a range of 2085 ppm. The health risk associated with drinking water (with >10 ppm nitrate) is the development of methemoglobinemia and has been found to cause blue baby syndrome. Several American states have now started programs to introduce advanced wastewater treatment systems to the typical onsite sewage facilities. The result of these systems is an overall reduction of nitrogen, as well as other contaminants in the wastewater. Environmental impacts Additional risks posed by increased availability of inorganic nitrogen in aquatic ecosystems include water acidification; eutrophication of fresh and saltwater systems; and toxicity issues for animals, including humans.

Eutrophication often leads to lower dissolved oxygen levels in the water column, including hypoxic and anoxic conditions, which can cause cause death of aquatic fauna. Relatively sessile benthos, or bottom-dwelling creatures, are particularly vulnerable because of their lack of mobility, though large fish kills are

31

not uncommon. Oceanic dead zones near the mouth of the Mississippi in the Gulf of Mexico are a well-known examples of algal bloom-induced hypoxia. The New York Adirondack Lakes, Catskills, Hudson Highlands, Rensselaer Plateau and parts of Long Island are examples of the impact of nitric acid raid deposition, killing fish and many other aquatic species. Ammonia (NH3) is highly toxic to fish and the water discharge level of ammonia from wastewater treatment facilities must often be closely monitored. To prevent fish deaths, nitrification prior to discharge is often desirable. Land application can be an attractive alternative to the mechanical aeration needed for nitrification.

b.Water Cycles

32

The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or H2O cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. Water can change states among liquid, vapor, and ice at various places in the water cycle. Although the balance of water on Earth remains fairly constant over time, individual water molecules can come and go, in and out of the atmosphere. The water moves from one reservoir to another, such as from river to ocean, or from the ocean to the atmosphere, by the physical processes of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and subsurface flow. In so doing, the water goes through different phases: liquid, solid, and gas. The hydrologic cycle involves the exchange of heat energy, which leads to temperature changes. For instance, in the process of evaporation, water takes up energy from the surroundings and cools the environment. Conversely, in the process of condensation, water releases energy to its surroundings, warming the environment. The water cycle figures significantly in the maintenance of life and ecosystems on Earth. Even as water in each reservoir plays an important role, the water cycle brings added significance to the presence of water on our planet. By transferring water from one reservoir to another, the water cycle purifies water, replenishes the land with freshwater, and transports minerals to different parts of the globe. It is also involved in reshaping the geological features of the Earth, through such processes as erosion and sedimentation. In addition, as the water cycle also involves heat exchange, it exerts an influence on climate as well. The sun, which drives the water cycle, heats water in oceans and seas. Water evaporates as water into vapor into water the air. Ice

and snow cansublimate directly

vapor. Evapotranspiration is

water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmosphere where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into clouds. Air currents move water vapor around the globe, cloud particles collide, grow, and fall out of the sky as precipitation. Some precipitation falls as snow or hail, and can accumulate as ice caps and glaciers, which can store frozen water for thousands of years. Snowpacks can thaw and melt, and the melted water flows over land as snowmelt. Most water falls back into the oceans or onto land as rain, where the water flows over the ground as surface runoff. A portion of runoff enters rivers in valleys in the landscape, with

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streamflow moving water towards the oceans. Runoff and groundwater are stored as freshwater in lakes. Not all runoff flows into rivers, much of it soaks into the ground as infiltration. Some water infiltrates deep into the ground and replenishes aquifers, which store freshwater for long periods of time. Some infiltration stays close to the land surface and can seep back into surface-water bodies (and the ocean) as groundwater discharge. Some groundwater finds openings in the land surface and comes out as freshwater springs. Over time, the water returns to the ocean, where our water cycle started.

c. Phosphorus cycle
Part III of "Matter cycles": The phosphorus cycle Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plants and animals in the form of ions PO43- and HPO42-. It is a part of DNA-molecules, of molecules that store energy (ATP and ADP) and of fats of cell membranes. Phosphorus is also a building block of certain parts of the human and animal body, such as the bones and teeth.

Phosphorus can be found on earth in water, soil and sediments. Unlike the compounds of other matter cycles phosphorus cannot be found in air in the gaseous state. This is because phosphorus is usually liquid at normal temperatures and pressures. It is mainly cycling through water, soil and sediments. In the atmosphere phosphorus can mainly be found as very small dust particles. Phosphorus moves slowly from deposits on land and in sediments, to living organisms, and than much more slowly back into the soil and water sediment. The phosphorus cycle is the slowest one of the matter cycles that are described here. Phosphorus is most commonly found in rock formations and ocean sediments as phosphate salts. Phosphate salts that are released from rocks through weathering usually dissolve in soil water and will be absorbed by plants. Because the quantities of phosphorus in soil are generally small, it is often the limiting factor for plant growth. That is why humans often apply phosphate fertilizers on farmland. Phosphates are also limiting factors for plant-growth in

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marine ecosystems, because they are not very water-soluble. Animals absorb phosphates by eating plants or plant-eating animals.

Phosphorus cycles through plants and animals much faster than it does through rocks and sediments. When animals and plants die, phosphates will return to the soils or oceans again during decay. After that, phosphorus will end up in sediments or rock formations again, remaining there for millions of years. Eventually, phosphorus is released again through weathering and the cycle starts over.

Phosphorus Cycle. Biological importance: Phosphorus is a component of nucleic acids,

phospholipids, as well as bones and teeth. Forms available to life: Inorganic phosphate (PO43-) is absorbed by plants. Reservoirs: The largest reservoirs are insedimentary rocks.

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Key processes: Weathering of rocks adds phosphorus to soil; some leaches into groundwater and soil and find its way to sea. Phosphate taken up by producers cycle through the food web via consumers.

d.The oxygen cycle

The oxygen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of oxygen within and between its three main reservoirs: The atmosphere, the biosphere, and the lithosphere (the crust and the uppermost layer of the mantle). The main driving factor of the oxygen cycle is photosynthesis, which is responsible for the modern Earth's atmosphere and life as it is today. If all photosynthesis were to cease, the Earth's atmosphere would be devoid of all but trace amounts of oxygen within 5000 years. The oxygen cycle would no longer exist. Reservoirs and fluxes The vast amount of molecular oxygen is contained in rocks and minerals within the Earth (99.5 percent). Only a small fraction has been released as free oxygen to the biosphere (0.01 percent) and atmosphere (0.49 percent). The main source of oxygen within the biosphere and atmosphere is photosynthesis, which breaks down carbon dioxide and water to create sugars and oxygen: CO2 + H2O + energy CH2O + O2. An additional source of atmospheric oxygen comes from photolysis, whereby high energy ultraviolet radiation breaks down atmospheric water and nitrite into component molecules. The free H and

36

N atoms escape into space leaving O2 in the atmosphere: 2H2O + energy + O2.

4H

The main way oxygen is lost from the atmosphere is via respiration and decay mechanisms in which animal life consumes oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. Because lithospheric minerals are reduced in oxygen, surface weathering of exposed rocks also consumes oxygen. An example of surface weathering chemistry is formation of iron-oxides (rust), such as those found in the red sands of Australia: 4FeO + 3O2 2Fe2O3. Oxygen is also cycled between the biosphere and lithosphere. Marine organisms in the biosphere create carbonate shell material (CaCO3) that is rich in molecular oxygen. When the organism dies, its shell is deposited on the shallow sea floor and buried over time to create limestone rock. Weathering processes initiated by organisms can also free oxygen from the land mass. Plants and animals extract nutrient minerals from rocks and release oxygen in the process.

e. Carbon Cycle The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged between the biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth. (Other bodies may have carbon cycles, but little is known about them.) All of these components are reservoirs of carbon. The cycle is usually discussed as four main reservoirs of carbon interconnected by pathways of exchange. The reservoirs are the atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere (usually includes freshwater systems), oceans, and sediments (includes fossil fuels). The annual movements of carbon, the carbon exchanges between reservoirs, occur because of various chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes. The ocean contains the largest pool of carbon near the surface of the Earth, but most of that pool is not involved with rapid exchange with the atmosphere. Major molecules of carbon are carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and glucose (in plant organic matter,C6H12O6), and many others, as well as many ions containing carbon. The global carbon budget is the balance of the exchanges (incomes and losses) of carbon between the carbon reservoirs or between one specific loop (e.g., atmosphere-biosphere) of the carbon cycle. An examination of the carbon budget of a pool or reservoir can provide information about whether the pool or reservoir is functioning as a source or sink for carbon dioxide.

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f.Sulfur Cycle Sulfur is mainly found on Earth as sulfates in rocks or as free sulfur. The largest deposits of sulfur in the United States are in Louisiana and Texas. Sulfur also occurs in combination with several metals such as lead and mercury, as PbS and HgS. Sulfur appears as the yellow aspects of soil in many regions. Sulfur was mined early in the form of the yellow element and used for gunpowder and fireworks. While bacteria digest plant matter, they emit H2S, hydrogen sulfide, a gas that has the "rotten egg" smell characteristic of swamps and sewage. Sulfur is an essential element of biological molecules in small quantities. (Source: UniBremen) Sulfur and its compounds are important elements of industrial processes. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a bleaching agent and is used to bleach wood pulp for paper and fiber for various textiles such as wool, silk, or linen. SO2 is a colorless gas that creates a choking sensation when breathed. It kills molds and bacteria. It is also used to preserve dry fruits, like apples, apricots, and figs, and to clean out vats used for preparing fermented foods such as cheese and wine. Sulfuric acid, H2SO4, is a very widely used chemical. Over 30 million tonnes of sulfuric acid are produced every year in the U.S. alone. The acid has a very strong affinity for water. It absorbs water and is used in various industrial processes as a dehydrating agent. The acid in the automobile battery is H2SO4. It is used for "pickling" steel, that is, to remove the oxide coating from the steel surface before it is coated with tin or electroplated with zinc. Sulfur is also a biologically important atom. Although only small amounts of sulfur are necessary for biological systems, disulfide bridges form a critical function in giving biological important molecules specific shapes and properties. Sulfur is released into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels -especially high sulfur coal--and is a primary constituent of acid rain. Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is the primary constituent of acid rain in about all regions other than California. Sulfur dioxide and carbonyl sulfide (COS) occur in small quantities in

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the atmosphere; but due to its high reactivity, sulfur is quickly deposited as compound (sulfates) on land and other surfaces.

Figure S1: The Sulfur Cycle. Figure S1 shows the biogeochemical cycle of sulfur. As in the case of nitrogen, the figure shows the large quantities. Local activities such as coal burning can release large amounts in a small area. Sulfur compounds can also be transported from the higher altitudes from tall "smoke stacks" and contribute to acid rain far from the sources.

g.Mercury Cycle
The essence of the Mercury Cycle is the evaporation of inorganic Mercury from both natural and man-made sources into the atmosphere where it is then oxidized in the upper atmosphere and returned back to earth, most commonly in precipitation, in its inorganic mercury form. It is dispersed evenly throughout the environment and the inorganic mercury is biomethylized by bacteria into the more toxic formation, methyl mercury. Once converted, the methyl mercury then enters the food chain and biomagnifies up the food chain (Clarkson, 2002).

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There are 6 universally recognized steps to the Mercury Cycle (UWEC and Purdue):

1. Degassing of Mercury from rock, soils, and surface waters, or emissions from volcanoes 2. 3. 4. Movement Deposition Conversion and in of of gaseous Mercury the from form on human through land into and insoluble the activities. atmosphere. waters. sulfide.

surface Mercury

element

5. Precipitation or bioconversion into more volatile or soluble forms such as methyl 6. Reentry into the atmosphere or biomagnified up the food chain. Mercury cycles in the environment as a result of natural (ex: geothermal activity) and anthropogenic (human) activities. The primary anthropogenic sources are: fossil fuel combustion and smelting activities. Both these natural and human activities release elemental mercury vapor (Hg0) into the atmosphere. Once in the atmosphere, the mercury vapor can circulate for up to a year, and hence become widely dispersed. The elemental mercury vapor can then undergo a photochemical oxidation to become inorganic mercury that can mercury.

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combine with water vapors and travel back to the Earths surface as rain. This mercury-water is deposited in soils and bodies of water. Once in soil, the mercury accumulates until a physical event causes it to be released again. (See forest fire research below) In water, inorganic mercury can be converted into insoluble mercury sulfide which settles out of the water and into the sediment, or it can be converted by bacteria that process sulfate into methylmercury. The conversion of inorganic mercury to methylmercury is important for two reasons:
y y

Methylmercury is much more toxic than inorganic mercury. Organisms require a long time to eliminate methylmercury, which leads to bioaccumulation.

Now the methylmercury-processing bacteria may be consumed by the next higher organism up the food chain, or the bacteria may release the methylmercury into the water where it can adsorb (stick) to plankton, which can also be consumed by the next higher organism up the food chain. This pattern continues as small fish/organisms get eaten by progressively bigger and bigger fish until the fish are finally eaten by humans or other animals. Alternatively, both elemental mercury and organic (methyl) mercury can vaporize and re-enter the atmosphere and cycle through the environment. Sources of Mercury Though many sources of Mercury are naturally existing, the current levels of mercury level is estimated to be 2 to 5 times greater than its preindustrial level due to high levels of mining and coal combustion (Princeton, 2004). Sources include:
y

Burning of Fossil Fuels, especially [coal]

o

[Coal] fired power plants are the largest source of inorganic Mercury release in the US and account for 33% of all man-made inorganic mercury released into the environment worldwide (Princeton, 2004).

Liquid mercury used in mining

o

Large quantities of liquid Mercury are used to extract gold after the Mercury is heated and evaporates (Clarkson, 2002).

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Release also occurs when virgin Mercury is also mined from Mercury ore (EPA, 2006).

Industrial Uses
o

Fluorescent lamps, dental fillings, thermometers, manometers, electrical and electronic switches

Waste Disposals
o

Combustion of waste and medical waste products release both inorganic and organic Mercury into the atmosphere. Mercury also leeches into the soil and groundwater surrounding landfills (Princeton, 2004).

Natural Sources including Volcanic Activity, Forest Fires

iv.CLIMATE REGIME
Climate is the characteristic condition of the atmosphere near the earth's surface at a certain place on earth. It is the long-term weather of that area (at least 30 years). This includes the region's general pattern of weather conditions, seasons and weather extremes like hurricanes, droughts, or rainy periods. Two of the most important factors determining an area's climate are air temperature and precipitation. Some facts about climate The sun's rays hit the equator at a direct angle between 23 N and 23 S latitude. Radiation that reaches the atmosphere here is at its most intense. In all other cases, the rays arrive at an angle to the surface and are less intense. The closer a place is to the poles, the smaller the angle and therefore the less intense the radiation. Our climate system is based on the location of these hot and cold airmass regions and the atmospheric circulation created by trade winds and westerlies. Trade winds north of the equator blow from the northeast. South of the equator, they blow from the southeast. The trade winds of the two hemispheres

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meet near the equator, causing the air to rise. As the rising air cools, clouds and rain develop. The resulting bands of cloudy and rainy weather near the equator create tropical conditions. Westerlies blow from the southwest on the Northern Hemisphere and from the northwest in the Southern Hemisphere. Westerlies steer storms from west to east across middle latitudes. Both westerlies and trade winds blow away from the 30 latitude belt. Over large areas centered at 30 latitude, surface winds are light. Air slowly descends to replace the air that blows away. Any moisture the air contains evaporates in the intense heat. The tropical deserts, such as the Sahara of Africa and the Sonoran of Mexico, exist under these regions. Seasons The Earth rotates about its axis, which is tilted at 23.5 degrees. This tilt and the sun's radiation result in the Earth's seasons. The sun emits rays that hit the earth's surface at different angles. These rays transmit the highest level of energy when they strike the earth at a right angle (90 ). Temperatures in these areas tend to be the hottest places on earth. Other locations, where the sun's rays hit at lesser angles, tend to be cooler. As the Earth rotates on it's tilted axis around the sun, different parts of the Earth receive higher and lower levels of radiant energy. This creates the seasons. Kppen Climate Classification System The Kppen Climate Classification System is the most widely used for classifying the world's climates. Most classification systems used today are based on the one introduced in 1900 by the Russian-German climatologist Wladimir Kppen. Kppen divided the Earth's surface into climatic regions that generally coincided with world patterns of vegetation and soils. The Kppen system recognizes five major climate types based on the annual and monthly averages of temperature and precipitation. Each type is designated by a capital letter.

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A - Moist Tropical Climates are known for their high temperatures year round and for their large amount of year round rain. B - Dry Climates are characterized by little rain and a huge daily temperature range. Two subgroups, S - semiarid or steppe, and W - arid or desert, are used with the Bclimates. C - In Humid Middle Latitude Climates land/water differences play a large part. These climates have warm,dry summers and cool, wet winters. D - Continental Climates can be found in the interior regions of large land masses. Total precipitation is not very high and seasonal temperatures vary widely. E - Cold Climates describe this climate type perfectly. These climates are part of areas where permanent ice and tundra are always present. Only about four months of the year have above freezing temperatures. Further subgroups are designated by a second, lower case letter which distinguish specific seasonal characteristics of temperature and precipitation. f - Moist with adequate precipitation in all months and no dry season. This letter usually accompanies the A, C, and D climates. m - Rainforest climate in spite of short, dry season in monsoon type cycle. This letter only applies to A climates. s - There is a dry season in the summer of the respective hemisphere (high-sun season). w - There is a dry season in the winter of the respective hemisphere (low-sun season). To further denote variations in climate, a third letter was added to the code. a - Hot summers where the warmest month is over 22C (72F). These can be found in C and D climates. b - Warm summer with the warmest month below 22C (72F). These can also be found in C and D climates.

44

c - Cool, short summers with less than four months over 10C (50F) in the C and Dclimates. d - Very cold winters with the coldest month below -38C (-36F) in the D climate only. h - Dry-hot with a mean annual temperature over 18C (64F) in B climates only. k - Dry-cold with a mean annual temperature under 18C (64F) in B climates only. Three basic climate groups Three major climate groups show the dominance of special combinations of airmass source regions. Group I Low-latitude Climates: These climates are controlled by equatorial a tropical air masses. Tropical Moist Climates (Af) rainforest Rainfall is heavy in all months. The total annual rainfall is often more than 250 cm. (100 in.). There are seasonal differences in monthly rainfall but temperatures of 27C (80F) mostly stay the same. Humidity is between 77 and 88%. High surface heat and humidity cause cumulus clouds to form early in the afternoons almost every day. The climate on eastern sides of continents are influenced by maritime tropical air masses. These air masses flow out from the moist western sides of oceanic high-pressure cells, and bring lots of summer rainfall. The summers are warm and very humid. It also rains a lot in the winter
y y y y

Average temperature: 18 C (F) Annual Precipitation: 262 cm. (103 in.) Latitude Range: 10 S to 25 N Global Position: Amazon Basin; Congo Basin of equatorial Africa; East Indies, from Sumatra to New Guinea.

45

Wet-Dry Tropical Climates (Aw) savanna A seasonal change occurs between wet tropical air masses and dry tropical air masses. As a result, there is a very wet season and a very dry season. Trade winds dominate during the dry season. It gets a little cooler during this dry season but will become very hot just before the wet season.
y y

Temperature Range: 16 C Annual Precipitation: 0.25 cm. (0.1 in.). All months less than 0.25 cm. (0.1 in.)

y y

Latitude Range: 15 to 25 N and S Global Range: India, Indochina, West Africa, southern Africa, South America and the north coast of Australia
y

Dry Tropical Climate (BW) desert biome These desert climates are found in low-latitude deserts

approximately between 18 to 28 in both hemispheres. these latitude belts are centered on the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, which lie just north and south of the equator. They coincide with the edge of the equatorial subtropical high pressure belt and trade winds. Winds are light, which allows for the evaporation of moisture in the intense heat. They generally flow downward so the area is seldom penetrated by air masses that produce rain. This makes for a very dry heat. The dry arid desert is a true desert climate, and covers 12 % of the Earth's land surface.
o o

Temperature Range: 16 C Annual Precipitation: 0.25 cm (0.1 in). All months less than 0.25 cm (0.1 in).

o o

Latitude Range: 15 - 25 N and S. Global Range: southwestern United States and northern Mexico; Argentina; north Africa; south Africa; central part of Australia.

Group II

46

L Mid-latitude Climates: Climates in this zone are affected by two different air-masses. The tropical air-masses are moving towards the poles and the polar air-masses are moving towards the equator. These two air masses are in constant conflict. Either air mass may dominate the area, but neither has exclusive control.

Dry Midlatitude Climates (BS) steppe

Global Range: southwestern United States and northern Mexico; Argentina; north Africa; south Africa; central part of Australia. Characterized by grasslands, this is a semiarid climate. It can be found between the desert climate (BW) and more humid climates of the A, C, and D groups. If it received less rain, the steppe would be classified as an arid desert. With more rain, it would be classified as a tallgrass prairie. This dry climate exists in the interior regions of the North American and Eurasian continents. Moist ocean air masses are blocked by mountain ranges to the west and south. These mountain ranges also trap polar air in winter, making winters very cold. Summers are warm to hot.
y y

Temperature Range: 24 C (43 F). Annual Precipitation: less than 10 cm (4 in) in the driest regions to 50 cm (20 in) in the moister steppes.

y y

Latitude Range: 35 - 55 N. Global Range: Western North America (Great Basin, Columbia Plateau, Great Plains); Eurasian interior, from steppes of eastern Europe to the Gobi Desert and North China.

Mediterranean Climate (Cs) chaparral biome This is a wet-winter, dry-summer climate. Extremely dry summers are caused by the sinking air of the subtropical highs and may last for up to five months. Plants have adapted to the extreme difference in rainfall and temperature between winter and summer seasons. Sclerophyll plants range in formations from forests, to woodland, and scrub. Eucalyptus forests cover most of the chaparral biome in Australia.

47

Fires occur frequently in Mediterranean climate zones.

y y y y

Temperature Range: 7 C (12 F) Annual Precipitation: 42 cm (17 in). Latitude Range: 30 - 50 N and S Global Position: central and southern California; coastal zones bordering the Mediterranean Sea; coastal Western Australia and South Australia; Chilean coast; Cape Town region of South Africa.

Dry Midlatitude Climates (Bs) grasslands biome These dry climates are limited to the interiors of North America and Eurasia. Ocean air masses are blocked by mountain ranges to the west and south. This allows polar air masses to dominate in winter months. In the summer, a local continental air mass is dominant. A small amount of rain falls during this season. Annual temperatures range widely. Summers are warm to hot, but winters are cold.
y y y y

Temperature Range: 31 C (56F). Annual Precipitation: 81 cm. (32 in.). Latitude Range: 30 - 55 N and S Global Position: western North America (Great Basin, Columbia Plateau, Great Plains); Eurasian interior.

Moist Continental Climate (Cf) Deciduous Forest biome This climate is in the polar front zone - the battleground of polar and tropical air masses. Seasonal changes between summer and winter are very large. Daily temperatures also change often. Abundant precipitation falls throughout the year. It is increased in the summer season by invading tropical air masses. Cold winters are caused by polar and arctic masses moving south.
o o o

Temperature Range: 31 C (56 F) Average Annual Precipitation: 81 cm (32 in). Latitude Range: 30 - 55 N and S (Europe: 45 - 60 N).

48

Global Position: eastern parts of the United States and southern Canada; northern China; Korea; Japan; central and eastern Europe.

Group III
y

High-latitude climates: Polar and arctic air masses dominate these regions. Canada and Siberia are two air-mass sources which fall into this group. A southern hemisphere counterpart to these continental centers does not exist. Air masses of arctic origin meet polar continental air masses along the 60th and 70th parallels.

Boreal forest Climate ( Dfc) taiga biome This is a continental climate with long, very cold winters, and short, cool summers. This climate is found in the polar air mass region. Very cold air masses from the arctic often move in. The temperature range is larger than any other climate. Precipitation increases during summer months, although annual precipitation is still small. Much of the boreal forest climate is considered humid. However, large areas in western Canada and Siberia receive very little precipitation and fall into the subhumid or semiarid climate type.
o

Temperature Range: 41 C (74 F), lows; -25 C (-14 F), highs; 16 C (60 F).

o o o

Average Annual Precipitation: 31 cm (12 in). Latitude Range: 50 - 70 N and S. Global Position: central and western Alaska; Canada, from the Yukon Territory to Labrador; Eurasia, from northern Europe across all of Siberia to the Pacific Ocean.

Tundra Climate (E) tundra biome The tundra climate is found along arctic coastal areas. Polar and arctic air masses dominate the tundra climate. The winter season is long and severe. A

49

short, mild season exists, but not a true summer season. Moderating ocean winds keep the temperatures from being as severe as interior regions.
y y y y

Temperature Range: -22 C to 6 C (-10 F to 41 F). Average Annual Precipitation: 20 cm (8 in). Latitude Range: 60 - 75 N. Global Position: arctic zone of North America; Hudson Bay region; Greenland coast; northern Siberia bordering the Arctic Ocean.

Highland Climate (H) Alpine Biome Highland climates are cool to cold, found in mountains and high plateaus. Climates change rapidly on mountains, becoming colder the higher the altitude gets. The climate of a highland area is closely related to the climate of the surrounding biome. The highlands have the same seasons and wet and dry periods as the biome they are in. Mountain climates are very important to midlatitude biomes. They work as water storage areas. Snow is kept back until spring and summer when it is released slowly as water through melting.
y y y y

Temperature Range: -18 C to 10 C (-2 F to 50F) Average Annual Precipitation: 23 cm (9 in.) Latitude Range: found all over the world Global Position: Rocky Mountain Range in North America, the Andean mountain range in South America, the Alps in Europe, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, the Himalayans in Tibet, Mt. Fuji in Japan.

Weather The state of the atmosphere at a given time and place, with respect to variables such as temperature, moisture, wind velocity, and barometric pressure A. Cloud Description SKY CONDITION Clear or Sunny Skies DEFINITION/DESCRIPTION
y

State of the sky when it is cloudless, totally clear or with a few small light

50

clouds visible.

Has a total cloud cover of less than one okta.

Partly Cloudy

State of the sky is within 2-5 oktas total cloud cover or has between 30% to 70% cover of the celestial dome.

Partly Cloudy to at Times Cloudy

Mostly partly cloudy but there are times when more than 70% of the celestial dome is covered with clouds.

Mostly or Mainly Cloudy

The sky is mostly covered with clouds but with possible brief periods of sunshine.

The total cloud cover is between 6 to 8 oktas.

Cloudy

The sky is covered with clouds between 6 to 8 oktas or has more than 70% cloud cover.

Predominantly more clouds than clear sky.

For a longer period during the day, the sun is obscured by clouds.

Overcast

The sky is totally or completely covered with thick and opaque clouds, 8 oktas or

51

around 100% cloud cover.

B. Precipitation (Rain & Rainshowers) Description

1. Rains
y

Overcast sky with continuous or steady precipitation that may last several hours.

Has a water droplets of 0.5 mm or greater in size but if widely scattered the drops may be smaller.

Associated with meso-scale (synoptic) system or macro-scale (large scale) system like TC's, Easterly Waves, Monsoons, Fronts and ITCZ.

RAIN CLASSIFICATION Very Light Rains

DEFINITION/DESCRIPTION
y

Scattered drops that do not completely wet an exposed surface regardless of duration.

Light Rains

The rate of fall is from trace to 2.5 mm per hour.

Individual drops easily identified and puddles(small muddy pools) form slowly.

Small streams may flow in gutters. The rate of fall is between 2.5 mm to 7.5 mm per hour.

Moderate Rains

Puddles rapidly forming and down pipes flowing freely. The rate of fall is greater than 7.5 mm per hour.

Heavy Rains

52

The sky is overcast, there is a continuous precipitation.

Falls in sheets, misty spray over hard surfaces.

May cause roaring noise on roofs. Other Descriptions:

Monsoon Rains
y

Heavy and continuous precipitation attributed to either the Southwest or Northeast Monsoon.

Occasional Rains Widespread Rains Frequent rains

Not frequent but is recurrent precipitation. Precipitation occuring extensively throughout an area. Precipitation occuring regularly and often throughout the time duration.

Intermittent Rains

Precipitation which ceases at times and re-occur again.

2. Rainshowers
y

Precipitation of short duration but usually of greater intensity from convective clouds(primarily cumulus or cumulonimbus)

Characterized by sudden start and sudden end of precipitation, rapid change in intensity.

RAINSHOWERS Scattered Rainshowers

DEFINITION/DESCRIPTION
y

The rain-bearing clouds is distributed spatially resulting to rainshowers occuring to the bigger part of the forecasted area.

Isolated Rainshowers

The rain-bearing clouds is small and isolated

53

resulting to rainshowers occuring only to a small part of the forecasted area. Occasional Rainshowers There is a large amount of convective clouds and precipitation occur in most parts of the forecasted area occasionally, and varying in rainfall amount. Squally Rainshowers Showers accompanied by brief but sudden strong or gale force winds.

C. Wind Description(Based from the Beaufort Wind Scale and the Saffir-Simpson Scale) UNITS UNITS WIND DESCRIPTION in KPH Light Winds in KNOTS or
y y

DESCRIPTION AS OBSERVED

19 or 10 less less

Wind felt on face. Ordinary wind vanes

moved by wind.
y

Leaves rustle. Wind raises dust and loose paper.

Moderate Winds

20-29 11-16

Small moved.

branches

are

Moderate to Occasionally Strong

Moderate persist but

winds

mostly are the it

there during

instances forecast reaches force.

period strong

that

wind

54

Fresh Winds*

30-39 17-21

Small trees in leaf begin to sway.

Crested wavelets appear on inland waters.

Strong Winds

40-50 22-27

Large branches in motion.

Whistling

heard

in

telephone wires.

Umbrellas difficulty.

used

with

Gale: 1 Near Gale* 51-62 28-33

y

Whole trees in motion.

Inconvenience felt when walking against wind.

Gale 63-75 34-40

3 Strong Gale*

76-87 41-47

Twigs break off road.

Cars veer on road.

Larger

branches

break

55

off.

Slight structural damade occurs-roofing dislodged.

Stormy: 1 Storm 88102 48-55

y

Trees uprooted.

Violent

Storm* 103-

53-63
y

Considerable damage.

structural

3 Hurricane*

117

64

or

more 118 or more

y y

Widespread damage. Widespread damage.

*Terms that are not normally used by meteorological centers in forecasts formulation and communication

Gust - any sudden brief increase of wind speed usually less than 20 seconds followed by a lull or slackening in wind speed

D. Sea Condition as affected by Wind Force (Based from the Beaufort Wind Scale) UNITS in UNITS in WAVE (MPS) 0-1.5 (KTS) 0-3.0 HT.(METERS) 0.1

WIND FORCE Calm

SEA CONDITION
y

Ripples with the appearance of scales are formed but without foam crests.

56

Smooth

1.5-4.0

3.0-8.0

0.1-0.5

Small wavelets, still short but more pronounced.

Crest

have and

glassy do not

appearance break. Slight 4.0-8.0 8.0-16.0 0.5-1.25 Small longer.

y

waves,

becoming

Fairly frequent white horses. Moderate waves taking a more pronounced long form.

Moderate

8.0-11.0 16.0-22.0 1.25-2.5

Many

white

horses

are

formed-a change of some spray. Rough 11.0-16.0 22.0-32.0 2.5-4.0 Large waves begin to form. Sea heaps up and white foam from breaking waves begin to be blown in streaks along the direction of wind. Very Rough 16.0-20.0 32.0-40.0 4.0-6.0 Moderately high waves of greater length.
y

y y

Edges of crest begin to break into spindrift.

Foam is blown in well-mark streaks along the direction of the wind.

High

20.0-26.0 40.0-52.0 6.0-9.0

High to very high waves with long overhanging crests.

The surface of the sea takes on white appearance.

57

The thumbling of the sea becomes heavy with visibility affected.

Very High

26.0-34.0 52.0-68.0 9.0-14.0

y y

Exeptionally high waves. Small and medium size ships occasionally lost from view behind waves.

The

sea

is with

completely long white

covered

patches of foam.
y

The edges of wave crest are blown into froth.

Phenomenal >34.0

>68.0

>14.0

The air is completely filled with foam and spray.

Sea completely white with driving spray.

Visibility affected.

very

seriously

Global Warming What is global warming? While some would call global warming a theory, others would call it a proven set of facts. Opinions differ vehemently. Let us consider global warming to be both a premise that the environment of the world as we know it is slowly, but very surely increasing in overall air and water temperature, and a promise that if whatever is causing this trend is not interrupted or challenged life on earth will dynamically be affected. The prevailing counter opinion is that all that is presently perceived to be global warming is simply the result of a normal climactic swing in the direction of increased temperature. Many proponents of this global warming ideology have definitive social and financial interests in these claims.

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Global warming and climate change are aspects of our environment that cannot be easily or quickly discounted. Many factions still strongly feel that the changes our Earth is seeing are the result of a natural climatic adjustment. Regardless of ones perspective the effects of global warming are a quantifiable set of environmental results that are in addition to any normal changes in climate. That is why the effects of global warming have catastrophic potential. Global warming may well be the straw that breaks the camels back. It could turn out to be the difference between a category three hurricane and a category four. Global warming as caused by greenhouse gas emissions can lead us to a definite imbalance of nature. The premise of global warming as an issue of debate is that industrial growth coupled with non-structured methods we as humans use to sustain ourselves has created a situation where our planet is getting progressively hotter. We have seemingly negatively effected our environment by a cycle of harmful processes that now seem to be feeding upon themselves to exponentially increase the damage to our ecosystem.

Greenhouse Effect Anyone who has either spent time in a greenhouse for plants or simply gotten into a car on a hot summer day has personally experienced the greenhouse effect. Heat enters an enclosed area and then reflects back and forth building upon itself. While the ambient temperature outside might be 85 degrees Fahrenheit, inside an automobile the temperature easily zooms upward to 130F. Simply put, the greenhouse effect is what happens when heat is trapped in one way or another and then increases as more heat radiation is added. This is fine if you are an orchid or other tropical plant. But living things, including people, require set parameters of climate. When we discuss the greenhouse effect as regarding global warming we place the effect into a specific environment. That is the Earths atmosphere. When referencing the Earth, our entire planet becomes the interior of an automobile in the heat of summer. The Earth of course does not have a metal roof or a glass dome around it to trap heat and reflect solar radiation back to its surface. Indeed when drawings depict and descriptions explain the greenhouse effect the principle is

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simplified to imply that this is the case. Actually the greenhouse effect for the Earth is somewhat different. When solar radiation passes through out atmosphere the molecules that constitute our air absorb it. The majority of solar heat is absorbed by our planets surface. Different types of surfaces absorb or reflect heat in different ways. A white blanket of snow will reflect much more heat than freshly paved asphalt. Still everything that the suns rays fall upon either absorbs or reflects heat. In the case of out snowy Polar Regions that heat is reflected back from the planet. In the case of our cities it is trapped on the surface. From there it radiates outward where living things attempt to adjust to the relative heat or cold. Our planets original design was for a balance of all the components. Our atmosphere absorbs enough heat to keep us warm but hopefully not bake us. The angle of the sun in areas such as the poles creates an environment suited to North and South Pole inhabitants. The people, creatures and plant life at the Earths equator have acclimated to their section of the world. The greenhouse effect occurs planet wide when solar radiation either bounces off of or is radiated forth from the earth and instead of passing through our atmosphere and outward into space, is absorbed by all kinds of extra amounts of and extraneous gases and particles. These gases et al absorb heat and then radiate it outward in all directions, one of those directions, being the surface of the Earth. From there the process repeats itself until we have a global version of a car with the windows rolled up parked in the noonday sun.

Effects of Global Warming The effects of global warming are beginning to manifest themselves. While the greatest threat still lies at a point perhaps some fifty years forward, the current problems and predicaments are more than a harbinger. Global warming has already diminished the quality of life for the worlds poorest peoples. Hunger and starvation on the African continent is its greatest reality. If global warming is ignored and, shall we say, allowed to prosper, we the fortunate percentage of the Earths populace living in first tier nations may very well join the fray of increased human suffering. In the long term

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Now, the most obvious thought anyone who did not believe in global warming would think is that all of these factors have existed for millions of years and the fluctuations in them, such as amounts of greenhouse gases and changes in the surface of the Earth are too small to drastically effect climate. In the long term, that is, say a length of 100,000 years that is probably true. The Earth as a master clockwork will probably naturally adjust to all of mans device. But mankind may not be around to appreciate the changes as those same changes may exclude mankind from existence.

Global Warming Solutions Obviously there is no one magic solution to the problem of global warming. There are instead hundreds of questions that need to be asked and addressed so as to create an overall Earth plan that will develop our planet wisely. The changes we can make, both large and small when combined will curtail global warming for the better. In this section we discuss the latest green designs, products and ideas as yet undeveloped that will reduce environmental damage overall. We plan to offer honest value comparisons of products such as hybrid cars. If the carbon footprint made from producing a hybrid is ten times larger than that it erases it is news that should be shared. Compact florescent lights are great energy savers but are all of these exactly what they claim to be? And furthermore will light emitting diodes render CFLs obsolete before they are universally adapted.

As always the future holds a newer and possibly better design. We will be bringing you articles examining what will come and those products that are already available but await widespread acceptance. Developments in mass renewable energy production in such areas as solar and wind power are of interest to all. We will also be looking back at past successful use of these energy choices. Zenith sold tiny windmills in the late 1930s that would charge a car battery that in turn would run a radio for days. Has the technological upgrade been utilized?

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We will find solutions to the problem of global warming by asking countless questions about the processes we rely upon to live. We answer these questions on a personal level by changing the habits, which build each of our carbon footprints and on a global level by insisting that social and governmental structure acknowledge the need for environmental protection.

El Nio and La Nia El Nio and La Nia are the names given to changes in the winds, atmospheric pressure, and seawater that occur in the Pacific Ocean near the equator. El Nio and La Nia are opposite phases of a back and forth cycle in the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere above it. Unlike winter and summer, however, El Nio and La Nia do not change with the regularity of the seasons; instead, they repeat on average about every three or four years. They are the extremes in a vast repeating cycle called the Southern Oscillation, El Nio being the warm extreme and La Nia the cold extreme. Although El Nio and La Nia take place in a small portion of the Pacific, the changes caused by Southern Oscillation can affect the weather in large parts of Asia, Africa, Indonesia and North andSouth America. Scientists have only recently become aware of the far-reaching effects of the Southern Oscillation on the world's weather. An El Nio during 198283 was associated with record snowfall in parts of the Rocky Mountains, flooding in the southern United States, and heavy rain storms in southern California, which brought about floods and mud slides. The name El Nio comes from Peruvian fishermen. They noticed that near the end of each year, the seawater off the South American coast became warmer, which made fishing much poorer. Because the change appeared each year close to Christmas, the fishermen dubbed it El Nio, Spanish for "the boy child" referring to the Christ child. Every few years, the changes brought with El Nio were particularly strong or long lasting. During these strong El Nios, the warmer sea waters nearly wiped out fishing and brought significant changes in weather. For example, normally dry areas on shore could receive abundant rain, turning deserts into lush grasslands for as long as these strong El Nios lasted. In the 1950s and 60s it was found that strong El Nios were associated with increased sea surface temperatures throughout the eastern tropical Pacific. In recent years, these strong El Nios have been recognized as

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not just a local change in the sea, but as one half of a vast atmosphericoceanic cycle. The other half of the repeating cycle has been named La Nia, or the girl child. This phase of the Southern Oscillation is also sometimes called El Viejo, or the old man. The Southern Oscillation was detected in the early 1920s by Sir Gilbert Walker. He was trying to understand the variations in the summer monsoons (rainy seasons) of India by studying the way atmospheric pressure changed over the Pacific Ocean. Based on meteorologists' previous pressure observations from many stations in the southern Pacific and Indian oceans, Walker established that over the years, atmospheric pressure seesawed back and forth across the ocean. In some years, pressure was highest over northern Australia and lowest over the southeastern Pacific, near the island of Tahiti. In other years, the pattern was reversed. The two pressure patterns had specific weather patterns associated with each, and the change from one phase to the other could mean the shift from rainfall to drought, or from good harvests to famine. In the late 1960s, Jacob Bjerknes, a professor at the University of California, first proposed that the Southern Oscillation and the strong El Nio sea warming were two aspects of the same vast atmosphere-ocean cycle. El Nio and the Southern Oscillation (often referred to as ENSO) take place in the tropics, a part of the world dominated by prevailing winds, called the trade winds. Near the equator in the tropical Pacific, these easterly (east to west) winds blow day in and day out and tend to pull the surfacewater of the ocean along with them. This pulls the warm surface water westward, where it collects on the western edge of the ocean basin, the area that includes Indonesia, eastern Australia and many Pacific Islands. The warm waters literally pile up in these areas, where the sea level is about 16 inches (40 cm) higher than in the eastern Pacific. Meanwhile, along the coast of South America colder water from the ocean depths rises to the top, since the warmer water has been blown westward. The result is called upwelling, and it occurs along much of the coasts of South and North America. Upwelling has two important consequences. The cold deep waters tend to have more nutrients than surface water; these nutrients are essential to phytoplankton, the tiny plants of the sea that provide food for many other types of sea life. Thus, upwelling zones are very productive

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for fish and the animals (and people) that depend on fish for food. The second result of upwelling cold water is that it cools the air above it. Cool air is denser than warm air, and cool air in the atmosphere cannot begin rising to form clouds and thunderstorms. As a result, the areas near upwelling zones tend to be arid (desert-like) because rain clouds rarely form. The warmer water that builds up in the western Pacific warms the air above it. This warm moist air frequently rises to form clouds, which eventually produce rainfall. When the trade winds are blowing the warm water their way, the lands along the western Pacific enjoy abundant rainfall. Many rain forests are found in these areas, such as those of Borneo and New Guinea. The pattern of winds described above is the La Nia phase of the Southern Oscillation. It sets up the areas of high and low atmospheric pressure observed by Walker and others: in the west, warm air rising produces low pressure, while farther east the cooler, denser air leads to areas of high pressure. The atmosphere and the ocean form a system that is coupled, that is, they respond to each other. Changes in the ocean will cause a response in the winds above it, and vice versa. For reasons not yet fully understood, the coupled atmosphere-ocean system of the La Nia phase begins to change, slowly developing the characteristics of El Nio phase. The trade winds weaken somewhat, so that they pull less warm water to the western edge of the Pacific. This causes far-reaching changes. Fewer rain clouds form over the lands along the western Pacific. The lush rain forests dry out and become fuel for forest fires. The area of heavy rain shifts to the mid-southern Pacific, where formerly desert island are soaked day after day. In the eastern Pacific, the surface water becomes warmer, since it is no longer being driven westward. Ocean upwelling is weakened, so the water near the surface soon runs low on nutrients, which support the ocean food chain. Many species of fish are driven elsewhere to find food; in severe El Nio years fish populations may be almost completely wiped out. Bird species that depend on fish must look elsewhere, and the human fishing population face economic hardship. At the same time, the warmer waters offshore encourage the development of clouds and thunderstorms. Normally dry areas in western South America, such as Peruand Ecuador, may experience torrential rains and flooding during the El Nio phase.

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While its effects have long been noted in the tropical Pacific, El Nio is now being studied for its impact on weather around the world. The altered pattern of winds and ocean temperatures during an El Nio is believed to change the high-level winds, called the jet streams, that steer storms over North and South America. El Nios have been linked with milder winters in western Canada and the northern United States, as most severe storms are steered northward to Alaska. As Californians saw in 1982-83, El Nio can cause extremely wet winters along the west coast, bringing torrential rains to the lowlands and heavy snow packs to the mountains. The jet streams altered by El Nio can also contribute to storm development over the Gulf of Mexico, which bring heavy rains to the southeastern United States. Similar changes occur in countries of South America, such as Chile and Argentina, while droughts may affect Bolivia and parts of Central America. El Nio also appears to affect monsoons, which are annual shifts in the prevailing winds that bring on rainy seasons. The rains of the monsoon are critical for agriculture in India, Southeast Asia and portions of Africa; when the monsoon fails, millions of people are at risk of starvation. At present it appears that while El Nios do not always determine monsoons, they are associated with weakened monsoons in India and southeastern Africa, while tending to strengthen those in eastern Africa. In general, the effects of El Nio are reversed during the La Nia extremes of the Southern Oscillation cycle. During the 1999 La Nia episode, for example, the central and north-eastern United States experienced record snowfall and sub-zero temperatures, while rainfall increased in the Pacific Northwest and a record number of tornadoes plagued the southern states. Not all El Nios and La Nias have equally strong effects on the global climate because every El Nio and La Nia event is of a different magnitude and duration. The widespread weather impacts of the two extreme phases of the Southern Oscillation make their understanding and prediction a high priority for atmospheric scientists. Researchers have developed computer models of the Southern Oscillation that mimic the behavior of the real atmosphere-ocean system. These computer simulations require the input of mountains of data about sea and wind conditions in the equatorial Pacific. The measurements are provided by a large and growing network of instruments. Ocean buoys,

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permanently moored in place across the Pacific, constantly relay information on water temperature, wind, and air pressure to weather prediction stations around the world. The buoys are augmented by surface ships, island weather stations, and Earth observing satellites. Even with mounting data and improving computer models, El Nio, La Nia and the Southern Oscillation remain difficult to predict. However, the Southern Oscillation models are now being used in several countries to help prepare for the next El Nio. Countries most affected by the variations in El Nio, such as Peru, Australia and India, have begun to use El Nio prediction to improve agricultural planning.

B.BIOTIC COMPONENTS

The Biotic environment involves all the living organisms that come regularly into contact with each other, how they interact and their mutual influences. An ecosystem consists basically of the following and can be classified as producers, consumers or decomposers. y Producers are organisms which are able to manufacture organic compounds from inorganic substances from their environment. Green plants are able to do this by means of photosynthesis, where the sun provides the necessary energy. Therefore these green plants are the autotrophic organisms or primary producers in most ecosystems.

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Consumers This component is made up of organisms which cannot make organic compounds from inorganic substances. They are dependant upon autotrophic organisms and are the consumers or heterotrophic organisms in an ecosystem. The consumers are further subdivided according to their diet, into:

o herbivores or plant eaters which are the primary consumers eg. cows, giraffes, elephants, etc;

o carnivores or meat eaters which are the secondary consumers; some carnivores are called predators (eg. lions, leopard, fish eagle, etc) which catch their prey, kill it and then eat it; others are called scavengers ( eg. vultures) which usually eat what is left by the predators; o omnivores eat plant and animal material and can be primary, secondary and tertiary consumers simultaneously; a human beings is a good example of an omnivore. y Decomposers These are usually saprophytic organisms such as bacteria and fungi and that obtain their energy by decomposing the corpses and other dead parts of organisms. They break down all the organic material of the bodies of producers and consumers into inorganic materials that are restored to the soil or water to be reused by producers.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS:
The Science of Ecology by Richard Brewer, Hardcover, Publisher: Brooks Cole Ecology: The Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance: Hands-On Field Package (5th Edition) by Charles J. Krebs, Hardcover, Publisher: Benjamin-Cummings Elements of Ecology (5th Edition) by Robert L. Smith, Thomas M. Smith, Graham C. Hickman, Susan M. Hickman, Paperback, Publisher: Benjamin-Cummings Biology by Essenfeld, Gontang, Moore, Publisher: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Biology 4th Edition by Neil Campbell, Publisher: The Benjamin Cummings Publishing Company Inc. Concepts in Biology by Euger, Kormelink, Ross, Smith, Publisher: Wm. C. Brown Publishers. Biology A Critical Thinking Approach by Robert Allen, Publisher: Wm. C. Brown Communications, Inc. Science and Technology (Biology) by Lagunzad, Rabago, Publisher: Sd Publications Inc. A Modular Approach to Biology with environmental science be teresita Atienza and Liwayway Velasquez Ecology by rodora Sigote, Beatriz Bermudo, et al.