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The Global Water and Nitrogen Cycles

"Theforemostcriticalnaturalresourceissuefacinghumanityisfreshwater....Nomorefreshwater
willexistonearththantherewas2,000yearsagowhenthepopulationwas3%ofitscurrentsize."
(R.Robarts&R.Wetzel,SILNewsV.29,Jan2000)

Jumpto:[GlobalWaterCycle][GlobalNitrogenCycle][SelfTest]

11/20/2002

Format for printing

GlobalWaterCycle
Thewatercyclecontainsthelargestchemicalfluxonearth.Waterdistributesheataroundtheglobeandthus
createsclimate,andwateristhesinglemostimportantfactorregulatinglandplantproductivityworldwide.
Withoutwaterlifewouldnotexist(perhapsonANYplanet),anddespitethefactthat70%oftheearth's
surfaceiscoveredwithwater,thatwaterissaltyandcan'tbeusedfordrinking,agriculture,orindustry.
Onlyabout0.014%ofthewateratearth'ssurfaceisuseablebyplants,humans,andotheranimals.
Inattemptingtounderstandelementcyclesaspartofthemajorfunctioningofecosystems,itisusefulto
followaspecific"approach".Thisgeneralapproachwasfollowedinthepreviouslectureonthecarboncycle,
anditcanbeusedtohelpunderstandanyelementcycle.Itconsistsof3partsandisformallyoutlined
below:
1stAccounting:Accountingtellsyou"wherethingsare",orthedistributionoftheelementin
differentpoolswithintheecosystem.
2ndCycling:Cyclingtellsyou"wherethingsaregoing",andhowfasttheyaremovingfrom
differentpoolsintheecosystem.
3rdControls:Determiningthecontrolstellsyou"howdoesthesystemfunction,andwhat
factorsdrivethecycling".

Usingthisapproachofgainingknowledgeabouteachofthesethreecomponentsenablesyoutoanswerthe
questionof"Howwillthingschange?".Gainingthiskindofapredictiveunderstandingofecosystems,or
ofcommunitiesorpopulations,isthemostimportantgoalinbasicscientificresearch.So,let'sstartwith
theAccountinginourexaminationoftheglobalwatercycle.

AccountingforWater

(distributionofwaterinkm3x106)
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Figure1.TheLaurentianGreatLakes.

TheGlobalWaterandNitrogenCycles

Rocks(notusable)

25,000

Oceans(97.4%ofusablewater)

1,350

Ice

27.5

Groundwater

8.2

LakesandRivers

0.025

Atmosphere(vapor)

0.013

Figure2.Thedistributionofwaterattheearth'ssurface.

AsyoucanseefromtheTableandfromFigure2,mostofthewateronearthistiedupinrocksand
unavailable.Ofthewaterthatisatthesurfaceoftheearthandavailableforcycling,onlyaverysmall
percentageisfreshwater.Ofthatfreshwater,about20%iscontainedsolelyintheLaurentianGreatLakes
inNorthAmerica(Figure1),andanother20%iscontainedinasinglelakeinSiberia,LakeBaikal.

Cycling
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Thereare4majorpathwaysofcyclingintheglobalwatercycle(Figure3):precipitation,evaporation,vapor
transferfromoceantoland,andreturnflowinriversandgroundwatersfromlandtooceans.Thefollowing
givesthefluxofthesedifferentpathways:

1.Totalprecipitation=0.5x106km3/year(~0.385overoceans,0.111overland)
2.Evaporationfromocean=0.425x106km3/year
3.OceanResidenceTime,Rt=(1,350106km3)/(0.425106km3/yr)
=3,176years

4.Atmosphericwaterresidencetime(Aspartofyourlearningaboutthewatercycle,pleasetakea
momenttocalculatetheatmosphericwaterresidencetime.)

Figure3.TheGlobalWaterCyclePathwaysandFluxes.(Valuesin103km3/yr).

Controls
Thereareseveralmajorcontrolsonthewatercycle,includinghumanconsumption,temperature
increases,andlandusechanges.
(A).Humanconsumption.Theconsumptionofwaterbyhumanshasincreaseddramaticallysincethe
industrialrevolution,andtodaywaterisacriticallylackingresourceincertainareassuchasdesertsand
semideserts.Inadditiontothislocalvulnerability,itisquitelikelythatwatershortagesduetohuman
consumptionwilloccurattheregionalscaleinthenearfuture.Forexample,thesouthwesternUnitedStates
(inallseriousness)hasproposedto"buy"waterfromtheGreatLakesstatesandbuildapipelinefromLake
MichigansofarMichigan,Wisconsin,andothernearbystatesandCanadianprovinceshavedeclinedsuch
offers.

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Figure4. Ratesofwaterwithdrawnfromsurfaceandgroundwatersources,andconsumptionperindividualforrepresentativecountries.

(B).Temperature.Thesecondmajorcontrolonthecyclingofwateronearthistemperature.Increasing
temperatureincreasestheratesofevaporationandicemelting,andcausessealeveltorise.Severe
droughts,likeintheSahelinAfrica,arecausedbysmallchangesinthegeographicaldistributionofwater
thatareinturncausedbychangesintemperature.InFigure5belowtherearesomeexamplesoftheeffect
thatincreasedglobaltemperatureshavehadonglaciersinrecentyears.

1.GlaciermeltingintheFrenchAlpsandAlaska.Theengravingontheupperleftfrom1848showsa
glacierfillingmuchofthevalley,whilethephotographontherightfrom~1965showsthetremendous
retreatoftheglacier.Thissituationofrecentretreatoficesheetshasoccurredandisdocumentedin
manypartsoftheworld.Forexample,inAlaskaExitGlacier(lowerleft)hasretreatedfromwhere
thephotographerwasstandingtoitscurrentlocationwithinthelast100years,andacoastalglacier
(right)usedtofilltheentirevalleytothesea.

Figure5
2.Sealevelrise.Sealevelhasbeenrisingintheworldinrecentyears.Figures6and7belowshowfirst
howlargethesechangeshavebeeninvariouspartsoftheworld,andsecondhowmuchofthisincreaseis
duesimplytothethermalexpansionofwaterastemperatureIncreases.Figure8showstheeffectofarise
of4.7minsealevelonFlorida.Notethatwhile4.7mmayseemlikealargeincrease,duringthelast
glaciationsealevelwasafull100mlowerthanitistodaywiththattimeperspective,achangeof4.7m
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doesnotseemsolarge.

Figure6&7(above).Sealevelriseandimpactsoftemperature(above).

Figure8&9(below).ImpactofsealevelriseonlowlyingareasofFlorida(left).Theconveyorbeltcirculation(right)oftheoceanmaybe
alteredbyincreasingfreshwaterinputstotheArcticocean.

3.Riverflows.Asmoreandmoreoftheicecapsonlandmelt,therewillbeanincreasedriverflowof
freshwaterfromlandtotheocean,andespeciallytotheArcticocean.Thisflowofwaterwillplacea
lessdense,freshwater"cap"onthesurfacewateroftheocean,andcouldpreventsinkingofcold,
saltywater("deepwaterformation")thatdrivesoceancurrents(Figure9aboveseelecturesonocean
circulationforreviewofthistopic).

4.Interactionsinthehydrologicalcycle.Oneoftheimportantaspectsofthehydrologicalcycleishow
temperaturewillinteractwithotherfactors.Forexample,in2000thelakelevelsintheLaurentian
GreatLakeswereextremelylow,andtheselowlevelshadagreatimpactonshippingandrecreation
(seepicturesbelow).However,thatyeartheprecipitationandtemperaturewereaboutaverage,and
initiallyitwasunclearjustwhythelakelevelsweresolow.Basedonyourknowledgeofthemain
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factorsinvolvedinthehydrologicalcycle,canyousuggestwhatmighthaveoccurredtocausethelake
levelstobesolow?(Thiswillbediscussedinlecture).

(C).Landusechanges.Currentlymostofthelandusechangesonearth,suchasdeforestation,areata
localscale.However,itmaysoonbecomeimportantatregionalscalesandfortheentireglobeinthe
future.Forexample,inastudydoneatHubbardBrookinNewHampshire,runoffincreasedbyupto400%
afterdeforestation.Nutrientcyclesarestronglylinkedtohydrologiccycle,andsonutrientexportwasalso
increased.Theseincreasesareonlytemporary,however,andthelikelyendresultofsuchlandusechanges
isthatprecipitationwillbedecreased(thiswillbediscussedinmoredetailintheupcominglectureonthe
TropicalRainforest),andsoilswillbecomelessfertile.Thisillustratesoneofthekeypointsaboutelement
cycles,whichisthattheyaremostoftenlinkedanditisdifficulttostudytheminisolation.Inthisexample,
wefoundthatthewatercyclestronglycontrolsthenutrientcyclingduetothetransportofnutrientsin
runoff.Inthenextsectionwewillexaminethenitrogencyclespecificallyasanexampleofaglobalcycleof
animportantnutrient.
TheGlobalNitrogenCycle
Thecyclingofnitrogenisdifferentfromthecyclingofwaterinatleastoneimportantarea,whichisthatthe
"forms"ofnitrogenaremorevariedthantheformofwater,whichisalwaysH2Oandineitheraliquid,gas,
orsolidform.ThenitrogencycleiscomplextheninpartbecauseofthemanychemicalformsofNsuchas:
OrganicNNO3NH4andthegasesN2,N2O,NO+NO2(=NOx).Figure10belowgivesanoverviewofthe
globalnitrogencycle.

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Figure10.TheGlobalNitrogenCycle

Accounting
Justaswedidforthewatercycle,orfirststepinunderstandingthenitrogencycleistoexaminethe
distributionofNonearth.TheTablebelowgivesthedistributionofNinx1015grams.Noticethatthelargest
poolofavailableNisintheatmosphere.
Rocksandsediments
Atmosphere
Ocean
Soils
Landplants
landanimals

190,400,120(deep,unavailable)
3,900,000
23,348
460
14
0.2

IntheAtmosphere:
N2
N2O
NOx

3,900,000
1.4
0.0006(lessthan1billionth%)

Cycling
Thepathwaysandthereactionsinvolvedinthenitrogencyclearealsomorecomplicatedthaninthewater
cycledue,again,tothefactthattherearedifferentchemicalforms.Themajorpathwaysareshownin
Figure10,andthesepathwayscanbelinkedtospecificchemicalreactionsthatarelistedbelowandshown
inFigure11.

1.N2toorganicNcalled"Nfixation"(plantsandhumans)
2.OrganicNtoNH4+"mineralization"(bybacteriaandfungi)
3.NH4+toNO3,producingNOandN2O"nitrification"(bybacteria)
4.NO3toN2,producingN2O"denitrification"(bybacteria)
5.NO3&NH4+toorganicN"photosynthesis"(uptakebyplants)
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Figure11.Theprocessescontrollingtheconversionofoneformofnitrogenintoanotherform.Thereareaerobicprocesses(withoxygen)atthetopofthefigure,and
anaerobicprocesses(w/ooxygen)atthebottomofthefigure.NoticethatthechemicalconversionsbeginwiththefixationofN 2gasfromtheatmospherebyNfixation,
andendwiththereturnofN 2gastotheatmospherebydenitrification.

NitrogenFluxes(withrespecttotheatmosphere).Giventheinformationabove,wecancalculatesomeof
thefluxesofvariousnitrogenchemicalspeciesandtheirresidencetimesintheatmosphere.

1.N2outputfromtheatmosphere=158x1012g/year(Nfixation)
*RTofN2=24.68millionyears

2.NOxoutputfromatmosphere=60x1012g/year
*RTofNOx=0.01yr=3.6days
Notethatsmallpoolsizesofanelementoftenmeanthatthecomponentisconvertedtosomething
elsequickly,or,thatitisvery"reactive".Largepoolsizesaredifficultto"disturb"anexampleisthe
poolofN2gasintheatmosphere.

Controls
Thereareverymany"controls"ontheoverallnitrogencycle,butinthislecturewewillfocusonthecontrols
thatarerelateddirectlytoamajorenvironmentalproblemonearth,whichisacidrain.Thegeneralwayin
whichacidrainisformedisgiveninFigure12below.

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Figure12.Diagramofthepathwaysandreactionsleadingtotheformationofacidraininouratmosphere.

NOxproducedbycombustionoffossilfuelsandbyindustry.Importantinformingacidrain.

1.NO+O3(ozone)=NO2
2.NO2+OH=HNO3="nitricacid"
3.Inwater,HNO3dissociates(breaksapart)togiveH+andNO3(notethatthechargesmust
balance,sothereisonepositiveandonenegativechargedionafterthedissociation.)

TheSecondimportantreactioninvolvedwithacidrainistheformationofsulfuricacidinthe
atmosphere.

1.H2SO4dissociatesinwatertogive2H+andSO42.
Effectsofacidrain
Itisimportanttolearnandunderstandthatmostbiogeochemicalquestionsmustbesolvedbycombining
informationaboutseveralelementcycles.Thisisbecausemostelementcyclesinteractstronglywith
surroundingelements,andsoforexampletohelpsolvetheproblemsofacidrainwemustfirstunderstand
thecontrolsontheelementsthatinteract.ThetwoFiguresbelow(13and14),illustratesomeofthese
interactions.

Figures13and14(leftandbelow).Chemicalreactionsofacidraincomponentsinsoils.

Theimportantaspectsofthesefigurescanbesummarizedasfollows:

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Thebuffering
capacityofsoilsis
limitedbythe
amountof"base
saturation"inthe
soils.Base
saturationreflects
theamountofbase
cationssuchas
calciumand
magnesium
(positively
charged)thatare
foundattachedto
mineralgrainsin
thesoils.The
higherthebase
saturationthe
morebuffering
capacitythesoil
hastoadsorbH+
ions.H+is
neutralizedby
weathering
reactionsinthesoil
andinplants.H+is
asmallionthatis
veryreactive,and
itdisplacesother
positivelychargedelementssuchasbasecations
ontheclaysthatformmineralgrainsinthesoil.
Thustheacidisneutralizedinthesoil,andthe
basecationsthatwereexchangedarewashedout
ofthesoilandintostreamsandlakes.Figure15
belowshowshowthebasesaturationhaschanged
insoilssinceindustrialtimes.
Whateffectsdoesacidrainhave?
Plants,trees,andbuildingscanbedamaged.
AspHdrops,aquaticlifeisnegativelyaffected.

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Figure15.Diagramofthesituationinatypicalforestbeforeacidrain(~1880)andafteracidrain
hasbecomeimportant.Notethatontherightpanelthesoilsarenowreleasingaluminum
andhydrogenions,andthepHoftheexportedwaterisveryacid(pH=4.6).

Bymeasuringthebufferingcapacityofsoils,youcandetermineregionsofsensitivitytoacidrain,asis
shownbelowinthemapoftheUnitedStates.

Figure16.RegionsofsensitivitytoacidrainintheUnitedStates.AlsoshownaretheisoplethsofthepHofprecipitationforexample,allof
theeasternU.S.currentlyhasanaveragepHofrainfallbetween45,where"neutral"rainwaterhasapHof~6.

Summary
Thecyclingofelementsisamajoraspectofhowecosystemsfunction.Mostofourmajor
environmentalproblemsoftodayinvolveperturbationsofcriticalelementcyclessuchaswater,
nitrogen,orcarbon.
Thehydrologicalcycleisinfluencedorcontrolledbytemperature,landusechanges,andhuman
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consumption.
AcidRainisanimportantconsequenceofthenitrogenandsulfurcycles.Acidrainisproducedbythe
interactionsofotherelementsintheatmosphere,andtheimpactsofacidrainarecontrolledbymany
otherelementcyclesonlandandinthewater.
Themaintakehomemessagefortoday'slectureis:
"ELEMENTCYCLESINTERACT"andtheycannotbestudiedinisolation.

ReviewandSelfTest
Reviewofmaintermsandconceptsinthislecture.
SelfTestforthislecture.
AllmaterialstheRegentsoftheUniversityofMichiganunlessnotedotherwise.

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