The field of biogeochemistry involves scientific study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment (including the biosphere, the hydrosphere, the pedosphere, the atmosphere, and the lithosphere), and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earth's chemical components in time and space. Biogeochemistry is a systems science. // What is science? There are different theories of what science is. ... Chemistry (in Greek: χημεία) is the science of matter and its interactions with energy and itself (see physics, biology). ... The willingness to question previously held truths and search for new answers resulted in a period of major scientific advancements, now known as the Scientific Revolution. ... Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... Main articles: Life All organisms (viruses not included) consist of cells, which in turn, are based on a common carbon-based biochemistry. ... The biosphere is that part of a planets outer shell—including air, land, and water—within which life occurs, and which biotic processes in turn alter or transform. ... Hydrosphere (Greek hydro- means water) in physical geography, describes the collective mass of water found on, under, and over the surface of a planet. ... The pedosphere is the outermost layer of the earth that is composed of soil and subject to soil formation processes. ... Atmosphere may refer to: a celestial body atmosphere, e. ... The lithosphere (from the Greek for rocky sphere) is the solid outermost shell of a rocky planet. ... Systems thinking involves the use of various techniques to study systems of many kinds. ...

Biogeochemistry research

There are biogeochemistry research groups in many universities around the world. Since this is a highly inter-disciplinary field, these are situated within a wide range of host disciplines, such as earth sciences, environmental sciences, environmental chemistry, agricultural science, soil science and oceanography. Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. ... Environmental science is the science of the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment, including their effects on all types of organisms but more often refers to human impact on the environment. ... Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. ... Agricultural science (also called agronomy) is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic, and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. ... Soil science deals with soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils per se; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils. ... Oceanography (from Ocean + Greek γράφειν = write), also called oceanology and marine science is the study of the earths oceans and their interlinked ecosystems and chemical and physical processes. ...

Many researchers investigate the biogeochemical_cycles of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus, as well as their stable isotopes. The cycles of trace elements such as the trace metals and the radionuclides are also studied. In ecology, a biogeochemical cycle is a circuit where a nutrient moves back and forth between both biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... This article is about the chemical element oxygen. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sulfur, S, 16 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 3, p Appearance lemon yellow Atomic mass 32. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... Isotopes are forms of a chemical element whose nuclei have the same atomic number, Z, but different atomic masses, A. The word isotope, meaning at the same place, comes from the fact that all isotopes of an element are located at the same place on the periodic table. ... Trace metals are metals in extremely small quantities, almost at the molecular level, that reside in or are present in animal and plant cells and tissue. ... A radioisotopes is an atom with an unstable nucleus. ...

Some important research fields for biogeochemistry include:

• modelling of natural systems
• soil and water acidification recovery processes
• increased eutrophication of surface waters
• carbon sequestration
• soil remediation
• climate change

Model may refer to more than one thing : For models in society, art, fashion, and cosmetics, see; role model model (person) supermodel figure drawing modeling section In science and technology, a model (abstract) is understood as an abstract or theoretical representation of a phenomenon,see; geologic modeling model (economics) model... Eutrophication is apparent as increased turbidity in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, imaged from orbit. ... Carbon sequestration from a fossil-fuel power station A carbon dioxide sink or CO2 sink is a carbon reservoir that is increasing in size, and is the opposite of a carbon source. The main sinks are the oceans and growing vegetation. ... There is growing realisation in the farming world that soil has a natural structure which can be damaged by tillage. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years The term climate change is used to refer to changes in the Earths global climate or regional climates. ...

Father of biogeochemistry

Vladimir Vernadsky, a Russian scientist in the tradition of Mendeleev, is credited with founding the science of biogeochemistry. Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (Владимир Иванович Вернадский) (March 12, 1863, N.S. [ February 28, O.S. ] – January 6, 1945) was a Russian mineralogist and geochemist who first popularized the concept of the noosphere and deepened the idea biosphere to the meaning largely recognized by todays scientific community. ... This article is about the profession. ... Mendeleyevs portrait by Ilya Repin. ...

Vernadsky distinguished three spheres in the universe domain, where a sphere is a concept similar to the Riemman concept of a space-phase. He observed that each sphere has its own laws of evolution, and that the higher spheres modify and dominate the lowers. The deepest visible-light image of the cosmos. ... Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution by natural selection. ...

The three spheres are:

1. Abiotic sphere - all the non-living energy and material processes.

2. Biosphere - the life processes that live within the abiotic sphere.

3. Nöesis o Nösphere - the sphere of the cognitive process of man. Man modifies the Biosphere and Abiotic sphere. The amount of influence man has on the other 2 spheres is comparable to a geological force.

Early development of biogeochemistry

The American limnologist and geochemist G. Evelyn Hutchinson is credited with outlining the broad scope and principles of this new field. More recently, the basic elements of the discipline of biogeochemistry were restated and popularized by the British engineer and science writer, James Lovelock, under the label of the Gaia Hypothesis. Lovelock emphasizes a concept that life processes regulate the Earth through feedback mechanisms to keep it habitable. G. Evelyn Hutchinson G(eorge) Evelyn Hutchinson (January 30, 1903 - May 17, 1991) was an American zoologist known for his studies of freshwater lakes and considered the father of modern limnology. ... James Ephraim Lovelock (born July 26, 1919), FRS, is an independent scientist, author, researcher and environmentalist who lives in Cornwall, in the west of England. ... Gaia theory is a class of scientific models of the biosphere in which life fosters and maintains suitable conditions for itself by affecting Earths environment. ...

See also

• Biosphere
• Noosphere
• Geochemistry
• Geomicrobiology
• Environmental chemistry

The biosphere is that part of a planets outer shell—including air, land, and water—within which life occurs, and which biotic processes in turn alter or transform. ... The noosphere can be seen as the sphere of human thought being derived from the Greek νους (nous) meaning mind in the style of atmosphere and biosphere. Just as the biosphere is composed of all the organisms on Earth and their interactions, the noosphere is composed of all the interacting minds... The field of geochemistry involves study of the chemical composition of the Earth and other planets, chemical processes and reactions that govern the composition of rocks and soils, and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earths chemical components in time and space. ... Geomicrobiology is a science that combines geology and microbiology, and studies the interaction of microscopic organisms with their inorganic environment, such as in sedimentary rocks. ... Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. ...

External links

• What is Biogeochemistry? - University of California California Space Institute page
• Treatise on Geochemistry Volume 8. Biogeochemistry

Example research institutes

• Biogeochemistry and environmental biocomplexity, Cornell University
• Biogeochemistry group, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, UCLA
• Biogeochemistry group, Chemical engineering, Lund University
• Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry
• Wetland Biogeochemistry Laboratory, Soil and Water Science Department, University of Florida