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Biogeochemistry is thescientific discipline that involves the study of thechemical,physical,geological, andbiological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment (including thebiosphere, thecryosphere, thehydrosphere, thepedosphere, theatmosphere, and thelithosphere). In particular, biogeochemistry is the study ofbiogeochemical cycles, the cycles ofchemical elements such ascarbon andnitrogen, and theirinteractions with and incorporation intoliving things transported through earth scalebiological systems in space and time. The field focuses on chemical cycles which are either driven by or influence biological activity. Particular emphasis is placed on the study ofcarbon,nitrogen,oxygen,sulfur,iron, andphosphorus cycles.[1] Biogeochemistry is asystems science closely related tosystems ecology.
Early Greeks established the core idea of biogeochemistry that nature consists of cycles.[2]
Agricultural interest in 18th-century soil chemistry led to better understanding of nutrients and their connection to biochemical processes. This relationship between the cycles of organic life and their chemical products was further expanded upon byDumas andBoussingault in a 1844 paper that is considered an important milestone in the development of biogeochemistry.[2][3][4]Jean-Baptiste Lamarck first used the termbiosphere in 1802, and others continued to develop the concept throughout the 19th century.[3] Early climate research by scientists likeCharles Lyell,John Tyndall, andJoseph Fourier began to linkglaciation,weathering, and climate.[5]
The founder of modern biogeochemistry wasVladimir Vernadsky, aRussian andUkrainian scientist whose 1926 bookThe Biosphere,[6] in the tradition ofMendeleev, formulated a physics of the Earth as a living whole.[7] Vernadsky distinguished three spheres, where a sphere was a concept similar to the concept of aphase-space. He observed that each sphere had its own laws ofevolution, and that the higher spheres modified and dominated the lower:
Human activities (e.g., agriculture andindustry) 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 (seeAnthropocene).
The Americanlimnologist andgeochemistG. 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 theGaia Hypothesis. Lovelock emphasized a concept that life processes regulate the Earth throughfeedback mechanisms to keep it habitable. The research ofManfred Schidlowski was concerned with the biochemistry of theEarly Earth.[8]
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Biogeochemical cycles are the pathways by whichchemical substancescycle (are turned over or moved through) thebiotic and theabiotic compartments ofEarth. The biotic compartment is thebiosphere and the abiotic compartments are theatmosphere,hydrosphere andlithosphere. There are biogeochemical cycles for chemical elements, such as forcalcium,carbon,hydrogen,mercury,nitrogen,oxygen,phosphorus,selenium,iron andsulfur, as well as molecular cycles, such as forwater andsilica. There are also macroscopic cycles, such as therock cycle, and human-induced cycles for synthetic compounds such aspolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In some cycles there are reservoirs where a substance can remain or besequestered for a long period of time.[9][10][11]
Biogeochemistry research groups exist in many universities around the world. Since this is a highlyinterdisciplinary field, these are situated within a wide range of host disciplines including:atmospheric sciences,biology,ecology,geomicrobiology,environmental chemistry,geology,oceanography andsoil science. These are often bracketed into larger disciplines such asearth science andenvironmental science.
Many researchers investigate thebiogeochemical cycles ofchemical elements such ascarbon,oxygen,nitrogen,phosphorus andsulfur, as well as theirstable isotopes. The cycles oftrace elements, such as thetrace metals and theradionuclides, are also studied. This research has obvious applications in the exploration of ore deposits and oil, and in the remediation of environmental pollution.
Some important research fields for biogeochemistry include:
Evolutionary biogeochemistry is a branch of modern biogeochemistry that applies the study of biogeochemical cycles to the geologic history of the Earth. This field investigates the origin of biogeochemical cycles and how they have changed throughout the planet's history, specifically in relation to the evolution of life.[12]
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