THE

WATER
CYCLE
The earth has a limited amount of
water. That water keeps going around
and around and around and around and
in what we call the "Water Cycle".
This cycle is made up of a few main
parts:
evaporation (and transpiration)
condensation
precipitation
collection
Evaporation:

Evaporation is when
the sun heats up water
in rivers or lakes or the
ocean and turns it into
vapor or steam. The
water vapor or steam
leaves the river, lake or
ocean and goes into the
air.
Condensation:

Water vapor in the air
gets cold and
changes back into
liquid, forming
clouds. This is called
condensation.
Precipitation:

Precipitation occurs
when so much water has
condensed that the air
cannot hold it
anymore. The clouds
get heavy and water falls
back to the earth in the
form of rain, hail, or
snow.

Collection:
When water falls back to
earth as precipitation, it may
fall back in the oceans, lakes
or rivers or it may end up on
land. When it ends up on
land, it will either soak into
the earth and become part
of the ground water that
plants and animals use to
drink or it may run over the
soil and collect in the
oceans, lakes or rivers where
the cycle starts ALL OVER
AGAIN!
The Nitrogen
Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle
- constitutes about 78% of the earths
atmosphere, but the total amount of
fixed nitrogen in the soil, oceans and
bodies of organisms is only about
0.03% of that figure.
- all living organisms depend on
nitrogen fixation to synthesize
proteins, nucleic acids and other
necessary nitrogen- containing
compounds.
Processes involved in the Nitrogen Cycle
1. Nitrogen Fixation
- process whereby free atmospheric
nitrogen is converted into
compounds , such as ammonia and
nitrates, usually by soil bacteria

N
2
NH
3

NO
3
-
- happens also because of cosmic
radiation, meteor trails and lightning
(reacting with O2)
- done by nitrogen-fixing bacteria in
soil or in swollen areas (nodules) of
leguminous plants
eg. Rhizobium
2. Nitrification
- process whereby ammonium
ions (NH
4
+)
are changed into NO
3
-
- action of a group of bacteria
producing nitrite (NO
2
-
) and
nitrate (NO
3
-
)
- done by nitrifying bacteria
eg. Nitrosomonas - NO
2
-

Nitrobacter - NO
3
-

3. Ammonification
- breakdown of N
2
compounds in
the remains of organisms into NH
3

- done by decomposers.
4. Denitrification
- conversion of NH
3
, NO
2
-
and NO
3
-

into free N
2
gas.
- done by denitrifying bacteria
Carbon Cycle
Based on carbon dioxide (CO
2
)
CO
2
makes up 0.038% of atmosphere volume
Major cycle processes
Aerobic respiration
Photosynthesis
Fossil fuel combustion and deforestation
Fossil fuels add CO
2
to the atmosphere and
contribute to global warming
Fig. 3-13, p. 51
Respiration
Forest fires
Deforestation
Diffusion
Carbon dioxide
dissolved in ocean
Carbon
in limestone or
dolomite sediments
Marine food webs
Producers, consumers,
decomposers
Transportation

Carbon dioxide
in atmosphere

Carbon
in animals
(consumers)
Plants
(producers)
Animals
(consumers)
Decomposition
Respiration
Compaction
Carbon
in fossil
fuels
Carbon
in plants
(producers)
Burning
fossil fuels
Photosynthesis
Fig. 3-13, p. 51
Processes
Reservoir
Pathway affected by humans
Natural pathway
Phosphorus Cycle
Does not cycle through the atmosphere
Obtained from terrestrial rock formations
Limiting factor on land and in freshwater
ecosystems
Biologically important for producers and
consumers

Fig. 3-15, p. 53
Sea
birds
Phosphate
in shallow
ocean sediments
Bacteria
Animals
(consumers)
Plants
(producers)
Runoff
Runoff
Runoff
Phosphates
in fertilizer
Phosphates
in mining waste
Phosphates
in sewage
Phosphate
dissolved in
water
Erosion
Phosphate
in deep
ocean
sediments
Ocean
food chain
Plate
tectonics
Phosphate
in rock
(fossil bones,
guano)
Fig. 3-15, p. 53
Processes
Reservoir
Pathway affected by humans
Natural pathway
Sulfur Cycle
Most sulfur stored in rocks and minerals
Enters atmosphere through:
Volcanic eruptions and processes
Anaerobic decomposition in swamps, bogs,
and tidal flats
Sea spray
Dust storms
Forest fires
Fig. 3-16, p. 54