The dominant feature of the planet viewed from space is water – oceans of liquid water flood most of the surface while water vapour swirls in atmospheric clouds and the poles are capped with ice. Taken as a whole, the oceans form a single marine system where liquid water – the "universal solvent" – dissolves nutrients and substances containing elements such as oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. These substances are endlessly cycled and recycled, chemically combined and then broken down again, dissolved and then precipitated or evaporated, imported from and exported back to the land and the atmosphere and the ocean floor. Powered both by the biological activity of marine organisms and by the natural forces of the Sun and tides and movements within the Earth's crust, these are the marine biogeochemical cycles.
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Marine biogeochemical cycles are biogeochemical cycles that occur within marine environments, that is, in the saltwater of seas or oceans or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. These biogeochemical cycles are the pathways chemical substances and elements move through within the marine environment. In addition, substances and elements can be imported into or exported from the marine environment. These imports and exports can occur as exchanges with the atmosphere above, the ocean floor below, or as runoff from the land.
There are biogeochemical cycles for the elements calcium, carbon, hydrogen, mercury, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, selenium, and sulfur; molecular cycles for water and silica; macroscopic cycles such as the rock cycle; as well as human-induced cycles for synthetic compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). In some cycles there are reservoirs where a substance can be stored for a long time. The cycling of these elements is interconnected.
Marine organisms, and particularly marine microorganisms are crucial for the functioning of many of these cycles. The forces driving biogeochemical cycles include metabolic processes within organisms, geological processes involving the Earth's mantle, as well as chemical reactions among the substances themselves, which is why these are called biogeochemical cycles. While chemical substances can be broken down and recombined, the chemical elements themselves can be neither created nor destroyed by these forces, so apart from some losses to and gains from outer space, elements are recycled or stored (sequestered) somewhere on or within the planet.
and 28 Related for: Marine biogeochemical cycles information
the Earth's crust. Major biogeochemicalcycles include the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the water cycle. In each cycle, the chemical element or...
lithosphere). In particular, biogeochemistry is the study of biogeochemicalcycles, the cycles of chemical elements such as carbon and nitrogen, and their...
The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemicalcycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmospheric, terrestrial...
The iron cycle (Fe) is the biogeochemicalcycle of iron through the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere. While Fe is highly abundant in...
the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Unlike many other biogeochemicalcycles, the atmosphere does not play a significant role in the movement...
Recent Marine Sediments. Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists. pp. 48–141. Berner, Robert A. (1989-01-01). "Biogeochemicalcycles of carbon...
The boron cycle is the biogeochemicalcycle of boron through the atmosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere. Boron in the atmosphere is derived...
The water cycle (or hydrologic cycle or hydrological cycle), is a biogeochemicalcycle that involves the continuous movement of water on, above and below...
energy transfer occurs. Nutrient cycling occurs in ecosystems that participate in the "larger biogeochemicalcycles of the earth through a system of inputs...
negative impacts on copepod physiology, which in turn may alter marine biogeochemicalcycles. Freshwater copepods of the Cyclops genus are the intermediate host...
The lithium cycle (Li) is the biogeochemicalcycle of lithium through the lithosphere and hydrosphere. In the diagram above, lithium sinks are described...
The important sulfur cycle is a biogeochemicalcycle in which the sulfur moves between rocks, waterways and living systems. It is important in geology...
The mercury cycle is a biogeochemicalcycle influenced by natural and anthropogenic processes that transform mercury through multiple chemical forms and...
The copper cycle is the biogeochemicalcycle of natural and anthropogenic exchanges of copper between reservoirs in the hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere...
hdl:21.11116/0000-0003-B828-1. PMID 29398704. S2CID 3948918. Smil V (2000). Cycles of Life. Scientific American Library. "Nitrogen Fixation and Inoculation...
The chromium cycle is the biogeochemicalcycle of chromium through the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere. Chromium has two common oxidation...
The gold cycle is the biogeochemicalcycling of gold through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Gold is a noble transition metal...
Understanding the silica cycle is important for understanding the functioning of marine food webs, biogeochemicalcycles, and the biological pump. Silicic...
The chlorine cycle (Cl) is the biogeochemicalcycling of chlorine through the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. Chlorine is most commonly...
viruses appear to influence biogeochemicalcycles globally, provide and regulate microbial biodiversity, cycle carbon through marine food webs, and are essential...
hydrosphere, and atmosphere of Earth. Other major biogeochemicalcycles include the nitrogen cycle and the water cycle. Carbon is the main component of biological...
provides more nitrogen than the rivers. Marinebiogeochemicalcycles Taken as a whole, the oceans form a single marine system where water – the "universal...
cycle is a common thread between terrestrial, marine, geological, and biological processes. Calcium moves through these different media as it cycles throughout...
International License. Hedges, John I. (1992). "Global biogeochemicalcycles: progress and problems". Marine Chemistry. 39 (1–3). Elsevier BV: 67–93. Bibcode:1992MarCh...
Retrieved 2018-10-18. Hutchins D, Mulholland M, Fu F (2009). "Nutrient cycles and marine microbes in a CO2-enriched ocean". Oceanography. 22 (4): 128–145....
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