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. Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... Chemistry - the study of interactions of chemical substances with one another and energy based on the structure of atoms, molecules and other kinds of aggregrates Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem), meaning earth[1]) is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... A false-color composite of global oceanic and terrestrial photoautotroph abundance, from September 1997 to August 2000. ... The movement of water around, over, and through the Earth is called the water cycle, a key process of the hydrosphere. ... The pedosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth that is composed of soil and subject to soil formation processes. ... Layers of Atmosphere—not to scale (NOAA) [1] Earths atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earths gravity. ... The tectonic plates of the Lithosphere on Earth. ... Systems thinking is an approach to integration that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system will act differently when isolated from the systems environment or other parts of the system. ...

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 including: atmospheric sciences, biology, ecology, geomicrobiology, environmental chemistry, geology, oceanography and soil science. These are often bracketed into larger disciplines such as earth science and environmental science. Atmospheric sciences is an umbrella term for the study of the atmosphere, its processes, the effects other systems have on the atmosphere, and the effects of the atmosphere on these other systems. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... 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. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Thermohaline circulation Oceanography (from Ocean + Greek γράφειν = write), also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth Sciences that studies the Earths oceans and seas. ... 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. ... 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 study of the interactions among the physical, chemical and biological components of the environment; with a focus on pollution and degradation of the environment related to human activities; and the impact on biodiversity and sustainability from local and global development. ...

Many researchers investigate the biogeochemical cycles of chemical elements such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur, as well as their stable isotopes. The cycles of trace elements such as the trace metals and the radionuclides are also studied. This research has obvious applications in the exploration for ore deposits and oil, and in remediation of environmental pollution. In ecology, a biogeochemical cycle is a circuit where a nutrient moves back and forth between both biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems. ... The periodic table of the chemical elements A chemical element, or element for short, is a type of atom that is defined by its atomic number; that is, by the number of protons in its nucleus. ... General Name, symbol, number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Standard atomic weight 12. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) very pale blue (liquid) Standard atomic weight 15. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... General Name, Symbol, Number phosphorus, P, 15 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 3, p Appearance waxy white/ red/ black/ colorless Standard atomic weight 30. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sulfur, S, 16 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 3, p Appearance lemon yellow Standard atomic weight 32. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Microminerals (also known as trace elements) are micronutrients that are chemical elements. ... 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 radionuclide is an atom with an unstable nucleus, which is a nucleus characterized of excess energy which is available to be imparted either to a newly-created radiation particle within the nucleus, or else to an atomic electron (see internal conversion) . The radionuclide, in this process, undergoes radioactive decay...

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
• biogeochemical prospecting for ore deposits

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 refers to an increase in the primary productivity of any ecosystem. ... 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. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400,000 years For current global climate change, see Global warming. ... Prospecting is the act of searching for minerals or ore deposits. ...

History

The founder of biogeochemistry is Russian scientist Vladimir Vernadsky, a Russian who, with his 1926 book The Biosphere, in the tradition of Mendeleev, is credited with formulating a physics of the earth, as a living whole. 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: Image File history File links Vernadsky. ... 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. ... 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... Mendeleyevs portrait by Ilya Repin. ... The Universe is defined as the summation of all particles and energy that exist and the space-time in which all events occur. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ...

1. Abiotic sphere - all the non-living energy and material processes
2. Biosphere - the life processes that live within the abiotic sphere
3. Nöesis or Nösphere - the sphere of the cognitive process of man

Human activities (e.g., agriculture and industry) modify the Biosphere and Abiotic sphere. In the contemporary environment, the amount of influence humans have on the other two spheres is comparable to a geological force (see Anthropocene). The term Anthropocene is used by some scientists to describe the most recent period in the Earths history, starting in the 18th century where the activities of the human race first began to have a significant global effect on the Earths climate and ecosystems. ...

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 scientist and 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. Limnology is a discipline that concerns the study of inland waters (both saline and fresh), specifically lakes, ponds and rivers (both natural and manmade), including their biological, physical, chemical, and hydrological aspects. ... 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, and their interaction with... G. Evelyn Hutchinson holding a baby potto George Evelyn Hutchinson (born January 30, 1903, died May 17, 1991) was an Anglo-American zoologist known for his studies of freshwater lakes and considered the father of modern limnology. ... James Lovelock in front of a statue of Gaia in 2000 Dr James Ephraim Lovelock, CH, CBE, FRS (born 26 July 1919) is an independent scientist, author, researcher, environmentalist, and futurologist who lives in Cornwall, in the south west of Great Britain. ... The Gaia hypothesis, a hypothesis put forward to explain a number of paradoxes about life and the earth was first formulated in the 1960s, by the independent research scientist James Lovelock. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Feedback loop. ...

Important books and publications

Dmitrii Malyuga, 1995, Biogeochemical Methods of Prospecting. Springer, ISBN 978-0306106828.

See also

• Biosphere
• Ecology
• Ecosystem model
• Environmental chemistry
• Geochemistry
• Geomicrobiology
• Noosphere

A false-color composite of global oceanic and terrestrial photoautotroph abundance, from September 1997 to August 2000. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Ecosystem models, or ecological models, are mathematical representations of ecosystems. ... Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. ... 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, and their interaction with... 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. ... 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. In the original theory of Vernadsky, the noosphere is the third in a succession of phases of development of the Earth, after the geosphere...

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
• Biogeochemical Dynamics Program, Florida State University
• Biogeochemistry group, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, UCLA
• Biogeochemistry Lab, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
• Biogeochemistry group, Chemical engineering, Lund University
• Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry
• Complex Systems Research Center, University of New Hampshire
• Wetland Biogeochemistry Laboratory, Soil and Water Science Department, University of Florida
• Oxford University Biogeochemistry group