APES Cycles (Topics 1.4-1.7)

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Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from lectures on the Carbon Cycle, Nitrogen Cycle, Phosphorus Cycle, and Hydrologic Cycle.

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21 Terms

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Carbon Cycle

The movement of carbon (CO2, CH4, etc.) between sources and sinks. Some steps are fast, others are slow.

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Sink

A reservoir that stores more of a molecule than it releases.

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Source

A reservoir that releases more of a molecule than it stores.

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Combustion

Converts fossil fuels and plants into CO2.

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Nitrogen Cycle

The movement of Nitrogen (N) between sources and sinks. Steps are relatively fast compared to the Carbon cycle and reservoirs don't hold N for long.

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Nitrogen Fixation

Turning nitrogen from unusable forms to usable forms (NH3 or NO3).

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Bacterial Fixation

Bacteria in the soil or in symbiosis with plant roots convert N2 into ammonia (NH3).

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Synthetic Fixation

Humans combust FF's turning N2 into nitrate (NO3).

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Assimilation

Plants/Animals taking in N and incorporating it into their body.

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Ammonification

Soil bacteria, microbes, and decomposers convert waste and dead biomass back into NH3 and return it to the soil.

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Nitrification

Conversion of NH3 into nitrite (NO2) then nitrate (NO3) by bacteria.

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Denitrification

Conversion of soil N (NO3) into nitrous oxide (N2O) gas, which returns to the atmosphere.

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Phosphorus Cycle

Movement of phosphorus between sources and sinks. Cycle is very slow compared to C and N cycles.

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Weathering

Major natural source of phosphorus, wind and rain break P down and release it into nearby soil/water.

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Eutrophication

Excess nitrogen and phosphorus that can lead to algae blooms.

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Sedimentation

The process by which N particles don’t dissolve and fall to the bottom of the ocean, leading to the accumulation of sediment rock in bodies of water or soil.

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Geologic Uplift

The process by which tectonic plates collide, forcing up rock layers that for mountains, which can restart P cycle.

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Hydrologic Cycle

Movement of H2O between sources/sinks in different states.

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Transpiration

Plants draw up groundwater from roots to leaves, then water evaporates from stomata in leaves.

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Condensation

Water vapor turns into liquid water.

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Evapotranspiration

The combined process of evaporation from land and water surfaces and transpiration from plants through leaf stomata to the atmosphere.