Water biogeochemical cycle

Andrew Dickson (Chair) is an Associate Professor-in-Residence at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His research focuses on the analytical chemistry of carbon dioxide in sea water, biogeochemical cycles in the upper ocean, marine inorganic chemistry, and the thermodynamics of electrolyte solutions at high temperatures and pressures. His expertise lies in the quality control of oceanic carbon dioxide measurements and in the development of underway instrumentation for the study of upper ocean biogeochemistry. Dr. Dickson served on the NRC Committee on Oceanic Carbon. He is presently a member of the IOC C02 Advisory Panel and of the PICES Working Group 13 on C02 in the North Pacific. 

The bottom layer of a body of water, biogeochemical cycle... 

It is often taken for granted that the oxygen content of the air is nearly constant at ca. 20% of the atmospheric volume, that most of the liquid water on the planet is aerobic (i.e. contains O2), and that most water has pH values relatively close to neutral" (close to 7). However, these circumstances are not mere coincidences but are in fact consequences of the interaction of key global biogeochemical cycles. For instance, the pH of rainwater is often determined by the relative amounts of ammonia and sulfuric acid cycled through the atmosphere, a clear example of interaction between the nitrogen and sulfur cycles. 

An important example of non-linearity in a biogeochemical cycle is the exchange of carbon dioxide between the ocean surface water and the atmosphere and between the atmosphere and the terrestrial system. To illustrate some effects of these non-linearities, let us consider the simplified model of the carbon cycle shown in Fig. 4-12. Ms represents the sum of all forms of dissolved carbon (CO2, H2CO3, HCOi" and... 

Although it is one of the smallest reservoirs in terms of water storage, the atmosphere is probably the second most important reservoir in the hydrosphere (after the oceans). The atmosphere has direct connections with all other reservoirs and the largest overall volume of fluxes. Water is present in the atmosphere in solid, liquid, and vapor forms, all of which are important components of the Earth s natural greenhouse effect. Cycling of water within the atmosphere, both physically (e.g. cloud formation) and chemically, is also integral to other biogeochemical cycles and climate. Consult Chapter 17 for more details. 

In addition to biogeochemical cycles (discussed in Section 6.5), the hydrosphere is a major component of many physical cycles, with climate among the most prominent. Water affects the solar radiation budget through albedo (primarily clouds and ice/snow), the terrestrial radiation budget as a strong absorber of terrestrial emissions, and global temperature distribution as the primary transporter of heat in the ocean and atmosphere. 

Archer, D., Peltzer, E. T. and Kirchman, D. (1997). A timescale for dissolved organic carbon production in equatorial Pacific surface waters. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 11,435-452. 

All the factors mentioned in the previous sections play a role in the movement of metals through their overall biogeochemical cycle injection into the atmosphere, deposition onto land or water surfaces, transport via rivers and... 

It is also often taken for granted that many of the Earth s subsystems are exposed to free oxygen (O2), leading to a range of one-way reactions of reduced materials (such as organic carbon or metal sulfides) to an oxidized form. As pointed out many times in earlier chapters, the oxidation-reduction status of the planet is the consequence of the dynamic interactions of biogeochemical cycles. As is the case with the acid-base balances, there is considerable sensitivity to perturbations of "redox" conditions, sometimes dramatically as in the case of bodies of water that suddenly become anaerobic because of eutrophication. Another extreme... 

Fitzgerald GJ, Scow KM, Hill JE. Fallow season straw and water management effects on methane emissions in California rice. Global Biogeochem. Cycl. 2000 14 767-776. 

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