Knowra Geochemical cycle Geochemical cycle A geochemical cycle is the movement and transformation of chemical elements among Earth’s reservoirs, including rocks, oceans, atmosphere, and living organisms.
Weathering : The physical breakdown and chemical alteration of rocks and minerals at or near Earth’s surface. Weathering releases elements from rocks into soils, waters, and the atmosphere.
Earth system : The interacting atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere, together with their exchanges of matter and energy. Geochemical cycles describe material exchanges within this coupled planetary system.
Carbon cycle : The movement of carbon among the atmosphere, oceans, living things, soils, and rocks. Carbon cycling links geological storage to ecosystems and atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Carbon sequestration : The capture and storage of carbon dioxide or other carbon compounds in biological, geological, or engineered reservoirs. Sequestration deliberately redirects carbon into storage reservoirs within the carbon cycle.
Critical zone : The near-surface region of Earth where rock, soil, water, air, and organisms interact. Its complex reactions make element transfers difficult to measure and predict.
Erosion : The removal and transport of soil, rock, and sediment by water, wind, ice, or gravity. Erosion carries weathered material toward rivers, oceans, and new geological settings.
Geochemical reservoir : A part of Earth that stores a chemical element, such as the atmosphere, ocean, crust, or mantle. Reservoirs are the compartments between which geochemical cycles move elements.
Nitrogen cycle : The transformations and movement of nitrogen among the atmosphere, organisms, soils, and waters. Nitrogen cycling shows how microbes control an element’s movement through ecosystems and sediments.
Global warming : The long-term rise in Earth’s average surface temperature, primarily driven by human greenhouse-gas emissions. Human disruption of carbon transfers raises atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations and temperature.
Earth system model : A computer model that represents interactions among the atmosphere, oceans, land, ice, and living systems. Models test how coupled reservoirs and fluxes respond to environmental change.
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