Week 4 Environmental

Science
Materials and Nutrient Cycle

Objectives:
1. Discuss the different cycles involve in the environment;
2. Illustrate each cycle in the environment;
3. Enumerate the steps in each cycles in the environment;
4. Enumerate and discuss the raw materials and products of each cycle in the
environment and;
5. Discuss the importance of each cycle in the life of each living organisms.

CYCLES IN THE ENVIRONMENT

A natural process in which elements are continuously cycled in various forms between
different compartments of the environment (e.g., air, water, soil, organisms).
Examples include the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles (nutrient cycles) and the water
cycle.

4 MAJOR IMPORTANT CYCLES OCCUR IN THE ENVIRONMENT

1. Carbon Cycle
2. Nitrogen cycle
3. Photsphorus cycle
4. Water cycle

The Carbon Cycle

The Carbon Cycle

A simple diagram of parts of the carbon cycle, emphasizing the terrestrial (land-based)
parts of the cycle. Credit: UCAR
Week 4 Environmental
Science
There are a few types of atoms that can be a part of a plant one day, an animal the
next day, and then travel downstream as a part of a river’s water the following day. These
atoms can be a part of both living things like plants and animals, as well as non-living things
like water, air, and even rocks. The same atoms are recycled over and over in different parts
of the Earth. This type of cycle of atoms between living and non-living things is known as a
biogeochemical cycle.

All of the atoms that are building blocks of living things are a part of biogeochemical
cycles. The most common of these are the carbon and nitrogen cycles.

Tiny atoms of carbon and nitrogen are able to move around the planet through these
cycles. For example, an atom of carbon is absorbed from the air into the ocean water where it
is used by little floating plankton doing photosynthesis to get the nutrition they need. There is
the possibility that this little carbon atom becomes part of the plankton’s skeleton, or a part of
the skeleton of the larger animal that eats it, and then part of a sedimentary rock when the
living things die and only bones are left behind. Carbon that is a part of rocks and fossil fuels
like oil, coal, and natural gas may be held away from the rest of the carbon cycle for a long
time. These long-term storage places are called “sinks”. When fossil fuels are burned, carbon
that had been underground is sent into the air as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

Recently, people have been causing these biogeochemical cycles to change. When we
cut down forests, make more factories, and drive more cars that burn fossil fuels, the way that
carbon and nitrogen move around the Earth changes. These changes add more greenhouse
gases in our atmosphere and this causes climate change.

How does carbon cycle occur in the environment?

The element carbon is a part of seawater, the atmosphere, rocks such as limestone and coal,
soils, as well as all living things. On our dynamic planet, carbon is able to move from one of
these realms to another as a part of the carbon cycle.

 Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants. In the atmosphere, carbon is attached to
oxygen in a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2). Through the process of photosynthesis,
carbon dioxide is pulled from the air to produce food made from carbon for plant
growth.
 Carbon moves from plants to animals. Through food chains, the carbon that is in
plants moves to the animals that eat them. Animals that eat other animals get the
carbon from their food too.
 Carbon moves from plants and animals to soils. When plants and animals die, their
bodies, wood and leaves decays bringing the carbon into the ground. Some is buried
and will become fossil fuels in millions and millions of years.
 Carbon moves from living things to the atmosphere. Each time you exhale, you are
releasing carbon dioxide gas (CO2) into the atmosphere. Animals and plants need to
get rid of carbon dioxide gas through a process called respiration.
Week 4 Environmental
Science
 Carbon moves from fossil fuels to the atmosphere when fuels are burned. When
humans burn fossil fuels to power factories, power plants, cars and trucks, most of the
carbon quickly enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas. Each year, five and a half
billion tons of carbon is released by burning fossil fuels. Of this massive amount, 3.3
billion tons stays in the atmosphere. Most of the remainder becomes dissolved in
seawater.
 Carbon moves from the atmosphere to the oceans. The oceans, and other bodies of
water, absorb some carbon from the atmosphere. The carbon is dissolved into the
water.

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and traps heat in the atmosphere. Without it and
other greenhouse gases, Earth would be a frozen world. But since the start of the Industrial
Revolution about 150 years ago humans have burned so much fuel and released so much
carbon dioxide into the air that global climate has risen over one degree Fahrenheit. The
atmosphere has not held this much carbon for at least 420,000 years according to data from
ice cores. The recent increase in amounts of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide is
having a significant impact on the warming of our planet.

Carbon moves through our planet over longer time scales as well. For example, over
millions of years weathering of rocks on land can add carbon to surface water which
eventually runs off to the ocean. Over long time scales, carbon is removed from seawater
when the shells and bones of marine animals and plankton collect on the sea floor. These
shells and bones are made of limestone, which contains carbon. When they are deposited on
the sea floor, carbon is stored from the rest of the carbon cycle for some amount of time. The
amount of limestone deposited in the ocean depends somewhat on the amount of warm,
tropical, shallow oceans on the planet because this is where prolific limestone-producing
organisms such as corals live. The carbon can be released back to the atmosphere if the
limestone melts or is metamorphosed in a subduction zone.

Six steps of carbon cycle

1. Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants

2. Carbon moves from plants to animals
3. Carbon moves from plants and animals to soils.
4. Carbon moves from living things to the atmosphere.
5. Carbon moves from fossil fuels to the atmosphere when fuels are burned.
6. Carbon moves from the atmosphere to the oceans.
Week 4 Environmental
Science

Activity # 1
Week 4 Environmental
Science

THE NITROGEN CYCLE

Nitrogen, or N, using its scientific abbreviation, is a colorless, odorless element.

Nitrogen is in the soil under our feet, in the water we drink, and in the air we breathe. In fact,
nitrogen is the most abundant element in Earth’s atmosphere: approximately 78% of the
atmosphere is nitrogen! Nitrogen is important to all living things, including us. It plays a key
role in plant growth: too little nitrogen and plants cannot thrive, leading to low crop yields;
but too much nitrogen can be toxic to plants . Nitrogen is necessary for our food supply, but
excess nitrogen can harm the environment.

WHY IS NITROGEN IMPORTANT?

The delicate balance of substances that is important for maintaining life is an

important area of research, and the balance of nitrogen in the environment is no exception.
When plants lack nitrogen, they become yellowed, with stunted growth, and produce smaller
fruits and flowers. Farmers may add fertilizers containing nitrogen to their crops, to increase
crop growth. Without nitrogen fertilizers, scientists estimate that we would lose up to one
third of the crops we rely on for food and other types of agriculture. But we need to know
how much nitrogen is necessary for plant growth, because too much can pollute waterways,
hurting aquatic life.

NITROGEN IS KEY TO LIFE!

Nitrogen is a key element in the nucleic acids DNA

 Deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material which is present in nearly all living

organisms as the main component of chromosomes, and carrier of genetic
information.

 and 

 RNA Ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid present in all living cells, acts as a messenger
carrying instructions from DNA.

, which are the most important of all biological molecules and crucial for all living things.
DNA carries the genetic information, which means the instructions for how to make up a life
form. When plants do not get enough nitrogen, they are unable to produce amino acids
(substances that contain nitrogen and hydrogen and make up many of living cells, muscles
and tissue). Without amino acids, plants cannot make the special proteins that the plant cells
need to grow. Without enough nitrogen, plant growth is affected negatively. With too much
Week 4 Environmental
Science
nitrogen, plants produce excess biomass, or organic matter, such as stalks and leaves, but not
enough root structure. In extreme cases, plants with very high levels of nitrogen absorbed
from soils can poison farm animals that eat them.

FIVE STAGES OF NITROGEN CYCLE

There are five stages in the nitrogen cycle, and we will now discuss each of them in turn:
fixation or volatilization, mineralization, nitrification, immobilization, and denitrification.

STAGE 1: NITROGEN FIXATION

In this stage, nitrogen moves from the atmosphere into the soil. Earth’s atmosphere contains a
huge pool of nitrogen gas (N2). But this nitrogen is “unavailable” to plants, because the
gaseous form cannot be used directly by plants without undergoing a transformation. To be
used by plants, the N2 must be transformed through a process called nitrogen fixation.
Fixation converts nitrogen in the atmosphere into forms that plants can absorb through their
root systems.

A small amount of nitrogen can be fixed when lightning provides the energy needed
for N2 to react with oxygen, producing nitrogen oxide, NO, and nitrogen dioxide, NO 2. These
forms of nitrogen then enter soils through rain or snow. Nitrogen can also be fixed through
the industrial process that creates fertilizer. This form of fixing occurs under high heat and
pressure, during which atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen are combined to form ammonia
(NH3), which may then be processed further, to produce ammonium nitrate (NH 4NO3), a form
of nitrogen that can be added to soils and used by plants.

Most nitrogen fixation occurs naturally, in the soil, by bacteria. In Figure 1 (below),
you can see nitrogen fixation and exchange of form occurring in the soil. Some bacteria
attach to plant roots and have a symbiotic (beneficial for both the plant and the bacteria)
relationship with the plant. The bacteria get energy through photosynthesis and, in return,
they fix nitrogen into a form the plant needs. The fixed nitrogen is then carried to other parts
of the plant and is used to form plant tissues, so the plant can grow. Other bacteria live freely
in soils or water and can fix nitrogen without this symbiotic relationship. These bacteria can
also create forms of nitrogen that can be used by organisms.
 Week 4 Environmental
Science

 Figure 1 - Stages of the nitrogen cycle.

 The Nitrogen Cycle: Nitrogen cycling through the various forms in soil determines
the amount of nitrogen available for plants to uptake.
Source: https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/soil-carbon/immobilisation-soil-nitrogen-heavy-
stubble-loads.

STAGE 2: MINERALIZATION

This stage takes place in the soil. Nitrogen moves from organic materials, such as
manure or plant materials to an inorganic form of nitrogen that plants can use. Eventually, the
plant’s nutrients are used up and the plant dies and decomposes. This becomes important in
the second stage of the nitrogen cycle. Mineralization happens when microbes act on organic
material, such as animal manure or decomposing plant or animal material and begin to
convert it to a form of nitrogen that can be used by plants.

The first form of nitrogen produced by the process of mineralization is ammonia,

NH3. The NH3 in the soil then reacts with water to form ammonium, NH 4. This ammonium is
held in the soils and is available for use by plants that do not get nitrogen through the
symbiotic nitrogen fixing relationship described above.

STAGE 3: NITRIFICATION

The third stage, nitrification, also occurs in soils. During nitrification the ammonia in
the soils, produced during mineralization, is converted into compounds called nitrites, NO 2−,
and nitrates, NO3−. Nitrates can be used by plants and animals that consume the plants. Some
bacteria in the soil can turn ammonia into nitrites. Although nitrite is not usable by plants and
animals directly, other bacteria can change nitrites into nitrates—a form that is usable by
plants and animals. This reaction provides energy for the bacteria engaged in this process.
The bacteria that we are talking about are called nitrosomonas and nitrobacter. Nitrobacter
turns nitrites into nitrates; nitrosomonas transform ammonia to nitrites. Both kinds of bacteria
can act only in the presence of oxygen, O2. The process of nitrification is important to plants,
as it produces an extra stash of available nitrogen that can be absorbed by the plants through
their root systems.

STAGE 4: IMMOBILIZATION

The fourth stage of the nitrogen cycle is immobilization, sometimes described as

the reverse of mineralization. These two processes together control the amount of nitrogen in
soils.
Week 4 Environmental
Science
STAGE 5: DENITRIFICATION

In the fifth stage of the nitrogen cycle, nitrogen returns to the air as nitrates are
converted to atmospheric nitrogen (N2) by bacteria through the process we call
denitrification. This results in an overall loss of nitrogen from soils, as the gaseous form of
nitrogen moves into the atmosphere, back where we began our story.

WHAT IS EUTROPHICATION AND CAN IT BE PREVENTED?

Excess nitrogen can also leach—or drain—from the soil into underground water sources, or it
can enter aquatic systems as above ground runoff. This excess nitrogen can build up, leading
to a process called eutrophication, Excessive amount of nutrients (such as nitrogen) in a lake
or other body of water, which causes a dense growth of aquatic plant life, such as algae.

Eutrophication happens when too much nitrogen enriches the water, causing
excessive growth of plants and algae. Too much nitrogen can even cause a lake to turn bright
green or other colors, with a “bloom” of smelly algae called phytoplankton a Tiny,
microscopic marine algae (also known as microalgae) that require sunlight in order to grow.

(see figure 2)! When the phytoplankton dies, microbes in the water decompose them. The
process of decomposition reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water, and can lead
to a “dead zone” that does not have enough oxygen to support most life forms. Organisms in
the dead zone die from lack of oxygen. These dead zones can happen in freshwater lakes and
also in coastal environments where rivers full of nutrients from agricultural runoff (fertilizer
overflow) flow into oceans.

Figure 2 - Stages of eutrophication.

(1) Excess nutrients end up in the soil and ground. (2) Some nutrients become dissolved in
water and leach or leak into deeper soil layers. Eventually, they get drained into a water body,
such as a lake or pond. (3) Some nutrients run off from over the soils and ground directly into
the water. (4) The extra nutrients cause algae to bloom. (5) Sunlight becomes blocked by the
algae. (6) Photosynthesis and growth of plants under the water will be weakened or
Week 4 Environmental
Science
potentially stopped. (7) Next, the algae bloom dies and falls to the bottom of the water body.
Then, bacteria begin to decompose or break up the remains, and use up oxygen in the
process. (8) The decomposition process causes the water to have reduced oxygen, leading to
“dead zones.” Bigger life forms like fish cannot breathe and die. The water body has now
undergone eutrophication.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

DNA: ↑ Deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material which is present in nearly all

living organisms as the main component of chromosomes, and carrier of genetic information.

RNA: ↑ Ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid present in all living cells, acts as a messenger
carrying instructions from DNA.

Eutrophication: ↑ Excessive amount of nutrients (such as nitrogen) in a lake or other body

of water, which causes a dense growth of aquatic plant life, such as algae.

Phytoplankton: ↑ Tiny, microscopic marine algae (also known as microalgae) that require

sunlight in order to grow.

Bioremediation: ↑ Using other microorganisms or tiny living creatures to eat and break

down pollution in order to clean a polluted site.

Bacteria: ↑ Microscopic living organisms that usually contain only one cell and are found
everywhere. Bacteria can cause decomposition or breaking down, of organic material in soils.

Leaching: ↑ When a mineral or chemical (such as nitrate, or NO 3) drains away from soil or

other ground material and leaks into surrounding area.

Legumes: ↑ A member of the pea family: beans, lentils, soybeans, peanuts and peas, are
plants with seed pods that split in half.

Microorganism: ↑ An organism, or living thing, that is too tiny to be seen without a

microscope, such as a bacterium.

Activity # 2
The Nitrogen cycle

Direction: Fill in the blanks with the correct answer; write your answer on the space provided
before each number.

Lightning leaching ammonia legumes amino acids

Bacteria atmosphere decomposition nitrification animals

Week 4 Environmental
Science
_____________ 1. Nitrogen is a building block of these, a component of protein in
all living things.
_____________ 2. 80% of this consists of nitrogen, making it the largest reservoir
of this element on earth.
_____________ 3. Only certain bacteria, volcanic action, and this can break down
nitrogen in the air and convert it into a form that enters food
webs.
_____________ 4. Nitrogen is fixed into the soil for plants to use through the
activities of this.
_____________ 5. Plants use nitrogen in the soil as they grow, directly or
indirectly, plants are the only nitrogen source of these.
_____________ 6. During this process bacteria and fungi break down wastes and
remains of organisms into ammonia.
_____________ 7. This process occurs when water in the soil moves out of an
area, taking the dissolved nitrogen and other nutrients with it.
_____________ 8. this plant crop is able to fix nitrogen from atmosphere into the
soil.
_____________ 9. During this process bacteria convert nitrogen in the soil and
release it back into the atmosphere.
_____________ 10. When plants and animals die, their nitrogen compounds are
broken down into this.

THE PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

Phosphorus is a chemical element found on Earth in numerous compound forms, such

as the phosphate ion (PO43-), located in water, soil and sediments. The quantities of
phosphorus in soil are generally small, and this often limits plant growth. That is why people
often apply phosphate fertilisers on farmland. Animals absorb phosphates by eating plants or
plant-eating animals.

The role of phosphorus in animals and plants

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for animals and plants. It plays a critical role
in cell development and is a key component of molecules that store energy, such
as ATP (adenosine triphosphate), DNA and lipids (fats and oils). Insufficient phosphorus in
the soil can result in a decreased crop yield.

The phosphorus cycle

Phosphorus moves in a cycle through rocks, water, soil and sediments and organisms.

Here are the key steps of the phosphorus cycle

 Over time, rain and weathering cause rocks to release phosphate ions and other

minerals. This inorganic phosphate is then distributed in soils and water.
 Plants take up inorganic phosphate from the soil. The plants may then be consumed
by animals. Once in the plant or animal, the phosphate is incorporated
Week 4 Environmental
Science
into organic molecules such as DNA. When the plant or animal dies, it decays, and
the organic phosphate is returned to the soil.
 Within the soil, organic forms of phosphate can be made available to plants
by bacteria that break down organic matter to inorganic forms of phosphorus. This
process is known as mineralization.
 Phosphorus in soil can end up in waterways and eventually oceans. Once there, it can
be incorporated into sediments over time.

The phosphorus cycle

Phosphorus moves in a cycle through rocks, water, soil and sediments and organisms.

Most phosphorus is unavailable to plants

Since most of our phosphorus is locked up in sediments and rocks, it’s not available
for plants to use. A lot of the phosphorus in soils is also not available to plants.

The availability of phosphorus in soil to plants depends of several reversible pathways:

 Bacteria: Bacteria convert plant-available phosphate into organic forms that are then
not available to plants. Although other bacteria make phosphate available by
mineralisation, the contribution of this is small.
 Adsorption: Inorganic (and available) phosphorus can be chemically bound
(adsorbed) to soil particles, making it unavailable to plants. Desorption is the release
of adsorbed phosphorus from its bound state into soil solution.
 pH: Inorganic phosphorus compounds need to be soluble to be taken up by plants.
This depends on the acidity (pH) of the soil. If soils are less than pH 4 or greater than
pH 8, the phosphorus starts to become tied up with other compounds, making it less
available to plants.
Week 4 Environmental
Science
Many plant crops need more phosphorus than is dissolved in the soil to grow optimally. In
addition, crops are usually harvested and removed – leaving no decaying vegetation to
replace phosphorus. Therefore, farmers replenish the phosphorus ‘pool’ by adding fertilisers
or effluent to replace the phosphorus taken up by plants.

Phosphorus availability to plants

While much of the phosphorus in soil is not readily available, there are a number of
reversible pathways that release small amounts of phosphorus to plants.

Phosphate fertilisers replenish soil phosphorus

Many farmers replenish phosphorus through the use of phosphate fertilisers. The phosphorus
is obtained by mining deposits of rock phosphate. Locally produced sulfuric acid is used to
convert the insoluble rock phosphate into a more soluble and usable form –
a fertiliser product called superphosphate.

In New Zealand, superphosphate is made using rock imported mainly from Morocco.

Adjusting the pH of the soil for efficient plant uptake of phosphate should be done prior
to fertilization. For example, adding lime reduces soil acidity, which provides an environment
where phosphate becomes more available to plants.

Water pollution by fertilizers

When fields are overfertilised (through commercial fertilizers or manure), phosphate not
utilized by plants can be lost from the soil through leaching and water run-off. This phosphate
ends up in waterways, lakes and estuaries. Excess phosphate causes excessive growth of
plants in waterways, lakes and estuaries leading to eutrophication.
Week 4 Environmental
Science

Enhancement activity;

Try this!!!

The Water Cycle

The water cycle is the continuous movement of water all around the Earth. The water
cycle is like a big circle and doesn’t really have a starting point. There are 4 main stages
involved in water cycle i.e. evaporation, condensation, precipitation and runoff. So, how does
this cycle works? When the sun shines, the water from the ocean or lake evaporates due to
heat from the sun. When it evaporates, it turns into water vapor and goes up into the
atmosphere. This water vapor gets together with other water vapor and turns into a cloud.
When clouds get dense, they drop the water back to Earth in some form of precipitation like
rain, snow, hail or sleet. When the water falls back down to the Earth, they find their way on
the ground surface into puddles, streams and rivers. Again this water will evaporate and the
whole cycle will start again.
Week 4 Environmental
Science

Water is one of the world’s most valuable resources, and one that is becoming
increasingly difficult to find in drinkable quality. All water in the world is subject to what is
known as the water cycle, or the hydrologic cycle, or the H2O cycle which is the process by
which water moves around the world.

(Figure 1) hydrologic cycle, In the hydrologic cycle, water is transferred between the land
surface, the ocean, and the atmosphere.

SOURCE: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Different Stages of the Water Cycle

Water goes through three different states in the water cycle. It can be a liquid (water),
a gas (water vapor) or a solid (ice). These three states are interchangeable, as water can
freeze into ice or evaporate into water vapor, water vapor can condense as water, and ice can
melt into water. The water cycle consists of a number of steps which sees water go through
each of these states.

1. Evaporation: Water is found in lakes, oceans, swamps, and soil, as well as in all living
creatures and plants. When heat is applied from the sun, through exertion, or by artificial
means, the water molecules become excited and spread out. The loss of density is called
‘evaporation’, and it sees the water rise into the air forming clouds of water vapor. Normally,
the evaporation of water occurs when the water hits boiling point, around one hundred
degrees centigrade. However, in places in which the air pressure and humidity is lower, far
less heat energy is needed to evaporate the water because there is less pressure holding the
water molecules together. The water that evaporates from the oceans is not salty, as the salt is
too dense and heavy to rise with the water vapor, which is why water from rivers and lakes is
not salty.
Week 4 Environmental
Science
 Snow and ice can actually turn into water vapor without first turning into water. This
process is called ‘sublimation’, and it results from low humidity and dry winds. This
usually occurs at the peaks of mountains or other high-up places, as the lower air
pressure means that less energy is needed to sublimate the ice into water vapor.
Some of the highest peaks on earth, such as Mount Everest, have all of the necessary
components for sublimation, namely: strong sunlight, low temperatures, low air pressure,
strong wind, and low humidity. If you’ve ever seen dry ice, which has a fog pouting off of it,
this is an example of sublimation in action.

 When water evaporates off of a plant’s leaves, the process is known as

‘evapotranspiration’. A large percentage of the water in the atmosphere is produced
by this process due to the large areas covered by plants and trees across the planet.
While about ninety per cent of the water vapor in the world comes from lakes, oceans,
and streams, the remaining ten per cent is comprised of the various plant life around
the world.

2. Condensation: The water vapor that has risen into the sky cools significantly when it
comes into contact with the cooler air found up high. The vapor becomes a cloud, which is
pushed around the world by moving air currents and winds.
 If the water vapor cools to anything above zero degrees centigrade, it will condense as
water. Essentially, the water vapor will start to condense on the surface of tiny
particles of dust and dirt that rose with the vapor during the process of evaporation.
These tiny droplets will start to fall into one another and merge, producing a larger
droplet. When a droplet is large enough, gravity will pull it down at a rate that
exceeds the updraft in the cloud, leading to the droplet falling out of the cloud and
onto the ground below. This process is called ‘precipitation’, or – more commonly –
rainfall.
 If precipitation occurs in conditions which are particularly cold or have very low air
pressure, then these water droplets can quite often crystallize and freeze. This causes
the water to fall as solid ice, known as hail, or as snow. If the conditions are in
between those associated with snow and rain, the droplets will fall as icy cold, half
frozen water commonly referred to as sleet.

3. Precipitation: The water that has fallen as rain is absorbed into the ground through a
process known as ‘infiltration’. Soil and other porous materials can absorb great deals of
water this way, while rocks and other harder substances will only retain a small amount of
water. When the water infiltrates soil, it will move in all directions until it either seeps into
nearby streams or else sink deeper into what is known as ‘groundwater storage’. This is
where the water that does not seep out or evaporate joins up under the ground, saturating the
smallest nooks and crannies of rock and soil under the ground. These formations are also
known as ‘aquifers’, and explain why sometimes the ground underneath the top soil is damp
or sodden.
Week 4 Environmental
Science
 When an aquifer becomes too full, it starts to leak out onto the surface forming what
is known commonly as a ‘spring’. These can often be found in formations of porous
or brittle rock, which can crack following slightly acidic rainfall. Should the water be
located near a volcano or any source of natural thermal energy, it will form a hot
spring.

4. Runoff: After the water has fallen and the soil has become saturated, or the snow has
melted, the water follows gravity and falls down any hills, mountains, or other inclines to
form or join rivers. This process is known as ‘runoff’, and it is how water comes to rest in
lakes and returns to the ocean. The water falls according to the incline of the place from
which it is falling, and when several threads of water meet they form a stream.
The direction in which the water moves is known as ‘streamflow’, and it is central to
the concept of the currents within rivers and streams. These streams and rivers will run off
eventually to either form lakes or rejoin the ocean, depending on their proximity to the ocean.
Due to the amount of water stored in snow or ice, sudden increase in the heat can lead to
flooding due to the water suddenly melting and running off at an alarming rate. This is why
flooding can occur so easily during a warm spring following a particularly cold and biting
winter.

When more snow falls than evaporates or sublimates, the ice will compact densely to
form what are known as ‘ice caps’. The ice caps and glaciers located in the coldest regions of
the world are the biggest collections of ice in the world, and are slowly starting to shrink as
the water in which they sit is becoming warmer.

This happens in a cyclical manner, with no beginning or end. As precipitation

happens in one part of the world evapotranspiration is happening somewhere else. The cycle
of water never ends, which is why the oceans stay level, there are always clouds somewhere
in the sky, and drinkable water doesn’t suddenly just run out. At some point, any water that
has infiltrated will be released, any that has joined the ocean will evaporate, and even a large
portion of the ice caps may melt, releasing water that has been stored for millions of years
back into the water cycle with potentially cataclysmic effects.
Week 4 Environmental
Science

Activity # 3
The water cycle
Week 4 Environmental
Science