Environmental Cycles

Lecture 5
 Today’s Themes
• 1. Tectonic Cycle
• 2. Hydrologic Cycle
• 3. Biogeochemical Cycles and Nutrients
1. Tectonic Cycle
 1. Tectonic Cycle
• Lithosphere is broken into at least twelve large
pieces and those large pieces of lithosphere
are known as Tectonic Plates
• Tectonic cycle is the continuous formation,
destruction and reformation of Tectonic Plates
• Thus Tectonic cycle involves the creation and
destruction of the Earth’s solid outer layer, the
Lithosphere
 1. Tectonic Cycle

Plates of the world (Source: Pennsylvania State University)

 1. Tectonic Cycle
• Tectonic Plates continuously move relative to
each other
• This slow movement of Tectonic Plates is called
Plate Tectonics
• When Plates move the continents also move -
moving of continents is called Continental Drift
• Earth’s Crust gets reshaped because external
forms such as ocean basins, continents and
mountains can get produced when plates move
 1. Tectonic Cycle
• Plate boundaries: geologically active areas where
most earthquakes and volcanic activities occur
• There are three types of boundaries:
– Divergent: occurs where plates are moving away from one
another and new lithosphere is formed; produces ocean
basins
– Convergent: occurs when plates collide; produces
mountains such as the Alps and the Himalayas
– Transform fault: occurs when one plate slides past
another; e.g. the San Andreas fault
 1. Tectonic Cycle
• Effects
– Formation of mountain ranges
– Formation of oceans
– Earthquake
– Changes in location of continents
– Changes in sizes of continents
– Altered atmospheric and ocean circulation
– And many others
2. Hydrologic Cycle
 2. Hydrologic Cycle
• Movement of water from the oceans to the
atmosphere to the land and back to the
oceans
• Driven by solar energy
2. Hydrologic Cycle
 2. Hydrologic Cycle
• Main processes of Hydrologic cycle:
• (1) Evaporation: conversion of water into
water vapor
• (2) Transpiration: evaporation of water from
leaves after being extracted from soil by roots
and transported throughout the plant
• (3) Condensation: conversion of water vapor
into droplets of liquid water
 2. Hydrologic Cycle
• (4) Precipitation: rain, sleet, hail and snow
• (5) Runoff: down slope surface movement
back to the sea to resume the cycle
• (6) Infiltration: movement of water into soil
• (7) Percolation: downward flow of water
through soil to groundwater storage areas
• (8) Groundwater movement: movement of
subsurface water
3. Biogeochemical Cycles and
Nutrients
 3.1 Biogeochemical Cycles
• A Biogeochemical Cycle is the complete path a
chemical takes through the four major
components, or reservoirs, of Earth:
atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and
biosphere
• Continuous movement of nutrient elements
from the nonliving environment to living
organisms and then back again to the starting
point
 3.1 Biogeochemical Cycles

Why are the movements called Biogeochemical

Cycles?
 3.2 Nutrients, Macronutrients and
Micronutrients
• Nutrient: a chemical element used by an
organism to survive, grow and maintain its
bodily functions
• Out of 118 known chemical elements, only 24
are required for life purposes
• These 24 are divided into Macronutrients and
Micronutrients
 3.2 Nutrients, Macronutrients and
Micronutrients
• Macronutrients: Elements required in large
amounts by all life
– Form the fundamental building blocks of life
– Called “Big six” Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), Nitrogen
(N), Oxygen (O), Phosphorus (P) and Sulfur (S)
• Micronutrients: Elements required either in
small amounts by all life; or in moderate
amounts by some forms of life and not at all by
others