Biogeochemical Cycling
Summary
TLDREn este podcast, Mr. Andersen explica los ciclos biogeoquímicos, es decir, cómo los compuestos químicos se trasladan de los seres vivos a los no vivos y viceversa. Utiliza el acrónimo CHNOPS para recordar los átomos esenciales para la vida: carbono, hidrógeno, nitrógeno, oxígeno, fósforo y azufre. Explora la importancia de estos elementos en la formación de proteínas, ácidos nucleicos y en procesos vitales como la respiración celular y la fotosíntesis. Además, detalla los ciclos del agua, carbono, nitrógeno y fósforo, mostrando cómo se absorben, se utilizan y se devuelven a la naturaleza, destacando el papel crucial de las bacterias en la conversión de estos nutrientes para su uso biológico.
Takeaways
- 🌿 **Ciclos Biogeoquímicos**: Se describen cómo los compuestos químicos se mueven desde los seres vivos a los no vivos y viceversa.
- 🔤 **CHNOPS**: Un acrónimo para recordar los átomos esenciales para la vida: carbono (C), hidrógeno (H), nitrógeno (N), oxígeno (O), fósforo (P) y azufre (S).
- ⚛️ **Carbono**: Esencial para la formación de proteínas, lípidos, carbohidratos y ácidos nucleicos, gracias a su capacidad de enlace.
- 💧 **Hidrógeno**: Importante en la formación de agua y en procesos energéticos como la síntesis de ATP.
- ⚗️ **Nitrógeno**: Esencial para la síntesis de aminoácidos y bases nitrógenas en ADN, requiere de bacterias para su fijación.
- 🌬️ **Oxígeno**: Impulsa procesos vitales como la respiración celular y la fotosíntesis, capturando y liberando energía.
- 💠 **Fósforo**: Presente en lípidos y en la estructura del ADN, también es crucial en la formación de ATP.
- 🔗 **Azufre**: Aporta estructura a las proteínas mediante enlaces disulfuro, esencial para la formación de aminoácidos como citosina y metionina.
- 🌍 **Ciclo del Agua**: Describe cómo el agua se mueve desde los océanos a los seres vivos y regresa a través de la evaporación y la transpiración.
- ♻️ **Ciclos de Nutrientes**: Los nutrientes como carbono, nitrógeno y fósforo son reciclados en la biosfera, a diferencia de la energía que se transforma en calor.
- 🌱 **Ciclo del Carbono**: El carbono se absorbe por las plantas a través de la fotosíntesis y se devuelve al ambiente a través de la respiración y la combustión de combustibles fósiles.
Q & A
¿Qué son los ciclos biogeoquímicos?
-Los ciclos biogeoquímicos son procesos por los cuales los elementos químicos necesarios para la vida se mueven entre los seres vivos y los no vivos, y luego de nuevo a los vivos.
¿Cuál es la importancia de los átomos CHNOPS para la vida?
-Los átomos CHNOPS (carbono, hidrógeno, nitrógeno, oxígeno, fósforo y azufre) son fundamentales para la vida porque forman la base de la mayoría de las moléculas orgánicas esenciales como proteínas, ácidos nucleicos, lípidos y carbohidratos.
¿Por qué es importante el carbono en los seres vivos?
-El carbono es esencial porque tiene cuatro electrones de valencia, lo que le permite formar complejas moléculas orgánicas como proteínas, lípidos, carbohidratos y ácidos nucleicos, que son fundamentales para la estructura y la función de los organismos vivos.
¿Cómo es importante el hidrógeno en los procesos vitales?
-El hidrógeno es crucial ya que forma parte del agua, que es esencial para la vida debido a su solubilidad y su capacidad para proporcionar un medio donde la vida puede existir. Además, es importante en la transferencia de energía, como en la síntesis de ATP durante la fotosíntesis.
¿En qué se utiliza el nitrógeno en los organismos vivos?
-El nitrógeno es necesario para la síntesis de aminoácidos, que a su vez forman proteínas, y para la formación de bases nitrogenadas en el ADN, como la guanina, que es esencial para almacenar la información genética.
¿Qué papel juega el oxígeno en los ciclos biogeoquímicos?
-El oxígeno es esencial en la respiración celular, donde recibe electrones y libera una gran cantidad de energía. También es un componente clave del agua y participa en la fotosíntesis, donde se utiliza para almacenar energía en moléculas de glucosa.
¿Por qué es importante el fósforo para los seres vivos?
-El fósforo es necesario para la formación de lípidos en las membranas celulares, para la estructura del ADN y en la síntesis de ATP, que es la principal fuente de energía en los organismos vivos.
¿Cómo es importante el azufre en la estructura de las proteínas?
-El azufre es esencial en la formación de enlaces disulfuro en las proteínas, que son cruciales para darles su forma tridimensional y estabilidad, lo que a su vez influye en su función.
¿Cómo se describe el ciclo del agua en la Tierra?
-El ciclo del agua incluye la evaporación, condensación y precipitación, y cómo el agua entra en los organismos a través de la absorción por las raíces de las plantas y se recupera en el medio ambiente a través de la transpiración y la evaporación.
¿Cómo se describe el ciclo del carbono y cómo los seres humanos lo alteran?
-El ciclo del carbono implica la absorción de dióxido de carbono por las plantas a través de la fotosíntesis y su liberación a través de la respiración. Los humanos alteran este ciclo al quemar combustibles fósiles, lo que libera más carbono a la atmósfera de lo que normalmente ocurriría.
¿Cómo se describe el ciclo del nitrógeno y qué papel juegan las bacterias en él?
-El ciclo del nitrógeno involucra la conversión de nitrógeno atmosférico a formas utilizables por las plantas por medio de la fixación bacteriana, y la conversión de nitrógeno en la materia orgánica de organismos muertos de vuelta al nitrógeno atmosférico, proceso en el que también participan bacterias.
¿Cómo se describe el ciclo del fósforo y cómo se recupera en el medio ambiente?
-El ciclo del fósforo implica la liberación de fósforo de las rocas a través de la erosión y la lluvia, su absorción por las plantas y su posterior ingestión por los animales. Al morir y descomponerse, el fósforo se devuelve al suelo y eventualmente a las rocas.
Outlines
🌿 Ciclos Biogeoquímicos
El podcast de Mr. Andersen se centra en los ciclos biogeoquímicos, que son procesos por los cuales los compuestos químicos se trasladan entre la vida y los elementos no vivos, y luego vuelven. Se introduce el acrónimo CHNOPS para recordar los átomos esenciales para la vida: carbono, hidrógeno, nitrógeno, oxígeno, fósforo y azufre. Se explica el papel crucial de cada átomo en la formación de proteínas, ácidos nucleicos, entre otros. Además, se discuten los ciclos de estos elementos, destacando cómo se absorben, se utilizan y se devuelven a la naturaleza.
💧 Ciclo del Agua y Ciclos de Elementos
Este párrafo profundiza en el ciclo del agua y los ciclos de carbono, nitrógeno y fósforo. Se describe cómo el agua se almacena principalmente en los océanos y se introduce en los ecosistemas a través de la evaporación, condensación y precipitación. Se explica cómo las plantas absorben agua a través de sus raíces y la distribuyen a través del sistema de xylem, y cómo los animales, incluyendo los humanos, obtienen agua bebiendo o comiendo plantas. También se discuten los mecanismos de pérdida de agua, como la transpiración en las plantas y la sudoración o la orinación en los animales. Se explora la importancia del carbono en la atmósfera, su captura por las plantas a través de la fotosíntesis y su retorno al ambiente a través de la respiración, incluyendo el impacto del uso de combustibles fósiles. El ciclo del nitrógeno se describe con énfasis en la función bacteriana de fijar el nitrógeno y su conversión en formas utilizables para las plantas, y el papel de los bacterias en la degradación de materiales orgánicos y la liberación de nitrógeno atmosférico. Finalmente, se aborda el ciclo del fósforo, destacando su origen en las rocas, su liberación a través de la erosión y la absorción por las plantas, y su retorno al suelo a través de la decomposición de organismos y la eventual reconversión en roca.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Biogeochemical cycles
💡CHNOPS
💡Carbono
💡Hidrógeno
💡Nitrógeno
💡Oxígeno
💡Fósforo
💡Azufre
💡Ciclo del agua
💡Ciclo del carbono
💡Ciclo del nitrógeno
💡Ciclo de la fósforo
Highlights
Biogeochemical cycles are processes where chemicals move from living to non-living things and back again.
CHNOPS is a mnemonic for the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur, which are essential for life.
Carbon is crucial for forming complex organic molecules like proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids.
Hydrogen's role includes being a component of water, which is vital for life and energy transfer.
Nitrogen is necessary for the synthesis of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins.
Oxygen is not only a part of water but also plays a critical role in cellular respiration and energy production.
Phosphorus is a key component in the structure of phospholipids, DNA, and ATP, which are essential for life's functions.
Sulfur contributes to the structure of proteins by forming disulfide bridges, which give proteins their shape.
Biosphere II was an experiment attempting to create a closed ecosystem to demonstrate nutrient recycling.
The water cycle involves the movement of water from the oceans to plants and animals through evaporation, transpiration, and precipitation.
Carbon is primarily stored in the atmosphere, and plants absorb it through photosynthesis to produce sugars.
Respiration in both plants and animals returns carbon to the atmosphere, completing the carbon cycle.
The nitrogen cycle relies on bacteria to fix atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by plants.
Animals obtain nitrogen by consuming plants, and it is returned to the atmosphere through decomposition.
Phosphorus is stored in rocks and becomes available to plants through weathering and soil formation.
Animals, including humans, obtain phosphorus from plants, and it is recycled back to the soil through decomposition.
Burning fossil fuels disrupts the carbon cycle by releasing additional carbon into the atmosphere.
Transcripts
Hi. It's Mr. Andersen and in this podcast I'm going to talk about biogeochemical
cycles. Now that's quite a mouthful. So if we break that down that's life, earth, chemical
cycling. So basically it's how chemicals move from living things to non-living things and
then back again. And so up here I've written this, which is just a nemonic device to remember
that atoms that life needs to survive. CHNOPS. It's carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus
and sulfur. And so before we actually talk about cycling let's talk about why we actually
need these atoms. And we're going to start with carbon. And try to be ahead of me. In
other words before I flip the slide you should be planning ahead why do we need carbon. Why
do we need hydrogen. So let's go to carbon. So why do we need carbon? Well carbon remember
has four valence electrons. So it's really good at bonding. And so it's good at making
complex organic material. And so basically if you're thinking of a protein or lipids
or carbohydrates or nucleic acids like DNA, all of these things are built out of carbon.
And that's because carbon is incredibly good at building upon itself. If we go to the next
one, why is hydrogen important? Hydrogen is important because it makes up water. And water
in general is important just because of its solubility. And it can provide a medium where
life can exist. But it also can provide energy. And so if we look here, this is the light
dependent reaction in photosynthesis. And you can see these protons as they flow through
ATP synthase are actually making energy in the form of ATP. And so hydrogen is important
just through water but also energy transfer. So be thinking ahead, why do we need nitrogen?
Well nitrogen we need for a couple of reasons. This right here is an amino acid. And remember,
DNA contains the blueprint to make life, but it's the proteins that actually make us the
way we are. And this right here is an amino acid. All amino acids are going to have a
carbon in the middle and a hydrogen attached to that. They're then going to have an amino
group on one side and a carboxyl on the other side. And then an R group. That's going to
be the difference in every amino acid. But this nitrogen right here is required to make
amino acids or to build proteins. And so we need that nitrogen to survive. This over here
is guanine. Where's guanine found? Well when you're talking about DNA what's in the middle,
in other words what stores the information are the nitrogenous bases. Guanine is just
one. But we also have cytosine, thymine and adenine. And so guanine if you look here has
a whole bunch of nitrogen in it. And that nitrogen we have to get from our atmosphere
just to make the genetic material. Let's go to the next one. Oxygen. Why do we need oxygen?
Well water of course we need oxygen for. But I also included cellular respiration here.
Because way at the end of cellular respiration oxygen in receiving those electrons. And so
we can get a huge amount of energy as those electrons fall to oxygen. Likewise when we
pull them away in photosynthesis we can store a lot of energy. If we go to the next one,
phosphorus, why do we need phosphorus? Well we need phosphorus for a few reasons. Number
one, this would be a phospholipid. That makes up our lipid bilayers and is going to have
a phosphate in its head. If we look on the DNA right here. On the DNA we're going to
have remember sugar, phosphate, sugar, phosphate, sugar, phosphate backbone. And so phosphorus
is important in making our nuclear material. And the one thing that I should have included
on here is ATP. And remember ATP is adenosine triphosphate. And as we attach that last phosphate
on we're storing energy. Likewise we can release energy as we let it go. One of the hardest
ones here is sulfur. Why do we need sulfur? Well if you look right here I've got two amino
acids. This is cystine and methionine. So we just learned what an amino acid is. Again
it's going to have its carboxyl group here. It's going to have its amino group, its carbon
and its hydrogen. But you can see in both of these amino acids we're going to have sulfur.
And why is sulfur important? Well remember proteins make us the way we are. And they
have this complex three dimensional shape. And basically if you have a sulfur and a sulfur
and two R groups, they'll be held together with a bond. And this is called a disulfide
bridge or a disulfide bond. And so sulfur is important because it gives us structure
to those big proteins. And so CHNOPS is a good way to remember all the things that we
need. And again we need them for various reasons. And so we have to get them from our environment
because if you think about energy, how does energy get from the sun to the earth? It just
travels as light. Once it gets to the earth it's eventually used but it also eventually
ends up being given off as something called heat. And so the way the energy gets to our
planet is one direction. It's going to move in one direction. Then it eventually ends
up as heat. But the nutrients on our planet are different. The nutrients on our planet
are going to be recycled. In other words the amount of water that we have on our planet
is static. The amount of carbon that we have is static. And it has to be recycled over
and over and over again on biosphere, which is the earth. And they tried to do this in
the Arizona desert where they built this, which is Biosphere II. They tried to keep
all of the nutrients inside this biosphere that they needed to survive. They let light
in, but they tried to recycle the nutrients. It worked okay. They didn't really get a good
balance and so they had to open it up occasionally. And so there are cycles by which we can return
that from life to non-life and then back again. Remember what we're talking about is biogeochemical
cycling. How do we go from living to non-living. And so on the next four slides what I want
you to think about is with each of these cycles, from the water to the carbon to the nitrogen
to the phosphorus, where is most of that nutrient stored? How does it get into plants? And then
how does in get into animals? And then how does it get back again. So let's start one
with one that we all know. So the water cycle. So where is most of the water stored on our
planet? It's going to be stored in the ocean. And so that's going to be the reservoir. That's
going to be where most of the water is. How does it get into plants? Let's start there.
Well there's evaporation, condensation, precipitation. But eventually we have to get it into the
plants. And it's going to move into the plants through their roots. They're going to absorb
that water. And it's going to move up through the xylem. So that's how it get into plants.
How does it get into animals? Well we get water in us by drinking it. Or eating plants
that contain water. How do we lose it? In other words how does it go back to the reservoir
again? Well if it's plants we're going to transpire. They're going to lose that water
through their leaves. And in us just sweat or urination we're going to lose that water
back to the environment so it can be recycled again. And so the water in a water bottle
used to be water in an ocean. Used to be water in a plant. Used to be water in a swamp. It's
just recycled over and over and over again. So that's the water cycle. Let's go to the
next one. That's the carbon cycle. Where does most of the carbon stored on our planet? It's
actually stored in atmosphere. So how do we get that into plants? We get that into plants
through photosynthesis. Again they're going to absorb carbon through their stomata and
make sugar out of it. Okay. So how do we get it back to the environment? Well, how do we
get carbon? We're going to eat plants or we're going to eat things that eat plants. And so
that's how we get carbon inside us. But how do we then return it back into the atmosphere?
We're going to do that through respiration. And so as we respire, we're going to return
that. As plants respire, remember they're doing respiration as well, that returns it.
Now one thing that we're changing the amount of carbon because we're burning fossil fuels
which releases more carbon than normally would be in the atmosphere. But we've got this wonderful
recycling of carbon. And why do we need carbon? Again, to build us. Let's go to the next one.
That's nitrogen. Why do we need nitrogen? Remember amino acids and also the nitrogenous
bases. Now the nitrogen cycle, basically how do we move that into plants? On the nitrogen
cycle, on both sides we need bacteria. And so in order to get it into plants, that nitrogen
in the atmosphere, it's just nitrogen gas, 70% of what you are breathing now is nitrogen.
In order to get that into plants there are going to be bacteria. And basically what they're
going to do is fix the nitrogen. They're going to make it usable. And so before a plant can
absorb the nitrogen, it has to be fixed. It has to be converted into nitrate. And so basically
bacteria are doing that. And some plants will form a symbiotic relationship where they let
bacteria live on their roots as in these root nodules so they can convert it to plants.
Once the nitrogen is in plants, how does it get into animals? Well they eat the plants.
And we eat the animals that eat the plants. And that's how it gets into humans. But eventually
we have to return it again to the atmosphere. How does that occur? We're going to have bacteria.
And those bacteria as we decompose dead and dying material, those bacteria are going to
convert that back into atmospheric nitrogen. And so on either side of the nitrogen cycle
remember we have bacteria. And if there's no bacteria on either side we can't recycle
that nitrogen. Let's go to the last one. The last one is going to be the phosphorus cycle.
Phosphorus cycle, it's not going to be stored in the atmosphere this time, like it is for
nitrogen and carbon. It's going to be stored in the rock. So we're going to have that phosphorus
in the rock. How does that get into plants? Well there's going to be rain. And that weathering
is going to break that rock down into something called soil. It's then going to be assimilated.
In other words that phosphorus is going to be absorbed through plant roots so they can
make things like nucleic material or ATP. How do animals get it? Well they're going
to feed on that. So they're going to bring the phosphorus into them from the plants.
How do we return it to the soil? Well, as we die and we decompose, that phosphorus is
going to be returned to the soil. And then that soil eventually is going to become rock
again through the rock cycle. And so we can return it to rock. And so it can be recycled
over and over and over again. There's also a sulfur cycle as well. And so these are all
biogeochemical cycles. They are ways that we can take the nutrients that we need, move
them out of our environment, into us and back again. And I hope that's helpful.
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)