EFFECTS OF CARBON, NITROGEN, AND PHOSPHORUS

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1 EFFECTS OF CARBON, NITROGEN, AND PHOSPHORUS Hannah Ross December 10th, 2016 Pollution that causes carbon dioxide and other pollutant buildup in oceans is a main issue that surrounds the increasing temperature and acidification of oceans. These changes, caused by humans, have the most significant impact on the bleaching and killing of coral reefs. The carbon dioxide cycle, and other cycles, are severely affected by humans and cause a lot of environmental problems. 1 Carbon Dioxide Pollution Chemicals that cause carbon dioxide accumulation in oceans come from a variety of sources. Human impacts on natural ecological systems are the main cause. 1.1 The Carbon Cycle The natural carbon cycle is composed of carbon in different areas in different forms, including biomass in plants and other biota, fossilized in the ground and under oceans, gaseous in the atmosphere, and dissolved in the oceans water. The carbon contents that occur in these components naturally cycle through the environment. The death of biomass can result in fossilization over time. This fossilized matter can be expelled through the natural movement of tectonic plates. Carbon is also exchanged when predators eat their prey. In this way, the carbon is consistently cycled, and relatively evenly distributed. However, the carbon cycle does not operate the same way today as it has in the past, due to human interactions. 2 How the Carbon Cycle has been altered by humans Humans reduce the amount of biomass that exists by deforestation, which will increase the amount of carbon in the atmosphere because the carbon in the 1

2 missing biomass needs somewhere to go. It is released in the forms of carbon dioxide, and methane. 1 1 Professor McLeman, Robert. Energy, Ecosystems, and Cycling. Lecture, Wilfrid Laurier 2

3 Figure 1: Rainforests once covered 14% of the earths land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. Deforestation accounts for about 20% of global emissions of CO2. 2 By burning fossilized carbon from the Earth for fuel, wastes are expelled into the atmosphere. The ocean is in direct contact with the atmosphere at all times, resulting in a large amount of carbon dioxide dissolving into the water. 3 Nitrogen and phosphorous pollutants Nitrogen and phosphorus are two elements that are used in fertilizers for agriculture and peoples homes. Runoff from these fertilizers directly introduce nitrogen and phosphorus to water sources, which causes eutrophication. Eutrophication is the overproduction of algae and plankton in water, commonly known as algal blooms. Eutrophication can cause many problems. 3 3 Professor McLeman, Robert. Energy, Ecosystems, and Cycling. Lecture, Wilfrid Laurier 3

4 Figure 2: Algae blooms (seen in a July 2005 satellite image) have created the worlds largest dead zone in the Baltic Sea. Jeff Schmaltz, NASA. 4 The layer on top of water will allow little to no light to reach the vegetation under the water. With these plants no longer able to photosynthesize, the oxygen contents in the water will decline, and cause many aquatic species to suffocate. Eutrophication is more harmful in coastal marine regions where there is high biodiversity and a high number of underwater photosynthesizers that species rely on. Eutrophication severely limits the ability of algae to grow or regenerate on corals, leading to coral bleaching Professor McLeman, Robert. Energy, Ecosystems, and Cycling. Lecture, Wilfrid Laurier 4

5 Bibliography 1. Professor McLeman, Robert. Energy, Ecosystems, and Cycling. Lecture, Wilfrid Laurier 2. Think Global Green. Digital image. deforestation.html. Obtained through Google Advanced Search of images which is labeled for non-commercial reuse. 3. Professor McLeman, Robert. Energy, Ecosystems, and Cycling. Lecture, Wilfrid Laurier 4. Schmaltz, Jeff, NASA. Algae blooms have created the worlds largest dead zone in the Baltic Sea. Digital image. National Geographic News. July Accessed November 26, /02/ baltic-sea-algae-dead-zones-water/#/13487.ngsversion jpg. Obtained through National Geographic News. National Geographic hereby grants you a limited, revocable, nonsublicensable, nontransferable license, to access and display or perform the NG Content (excluding any software code) solely for your non-commercial use, in connection with using the NG Services. 5. Professor McLeman, Robert. Energy, Ecosystems, and Cycling. Lecture, Wilfrid Laurier 5