Cycles in the Enviroment

Cycles in the Enviroment

1. As we and other animals breath ,gasses are being recycled by other organisms

2. When a tree dies ,it decomposes and is recycled back into the earth

3. The Carbon Cycle

   • micro plants, animals and other organisms called plankton have some carbon in them ,that is what fossil fuels are made of
   • phytoplankton are plankton that use the sunlight to make their own food
   • over time plankton under great pressure will change into fossil fuels that contain carbon from its original organism
   • the circulation of carbon around an ecosystem is called the carbon cycle

4. The Water Cycle

   • water is required by all living organisms and moves around the environment changing form from air to the ground to your body
   • the water cycle is a continuous movement of water through an ecosystem
   • The 4 main processes in the water cycle are ... Evaporation: When liquid changes into water vapor Transpiration: When water is taken by plants roots and evaporates through it's leaves Condensation: When water vapor collects and turns back into a liquid Precipitation: When condensation builds in clouds then is released into snow, rain hail,sleet
     • there is also Groundwater: water that is the soil, plants roots can grow down and reach ground water and humans can dig Run-off:water that runs off the ground into rivers lakes or streams

5. Pollution In the Environment

   • pollution occurs when a substance is added at such a fast rate that it cant be broken down, stored or recycled so it causes pollution
   • substances that occur naturally can also become pollutants cause if they are present in too high of an amount for the environment to absorb without ahrmful affect for example carbon dioxide occurs naturally however the buning fossil fuels is damageging the enviorment , acid rain is amd ewhen pollutants containing sulfur and nitrogen are found at high levels and mix together making something acidic wher lakes can be damaged and fish can't live because ph level is below 5
   • the ph level measures how acidic a liquid is

6. The Movement of pollution

   • pollutants like pcb's are moving through our environment they are substances used in paints and and packaging there is also mercury and ddt (pesticide) these can be leaking into the air water or ground through waste disposal sites

7. Bioaccumulation

   • pollutants are stored in the same way food and energy bare stored, bioaccumulation oocurs when pollutants enter the food web and accumulate in high level consumers by eating something that has pollutants in it. example :pollutants-tiny fish-small fish-large fish-humans