Biogeochemistry
The biogeochemistry ( ancient Greek βίος bios = life, γῆ ge = earth γεω- geo = earth concerning χημεία chemeia = Chemistry) deals with the chemical , biological and physical processes that the structure and functions of ecosystems or landscapes to Are based. Biogeochemistry is an interdisciplinary systems science , the subject area of which includes all five geochemical spheres : biosphere , pedosphere , hydrosphere , earth's atmosphere and lithosphere .
Research area
Despite the broad definition, the area of research is relatively narrowly concentrated: Biogeochemistry essentially deals with material flows in and out of systems, as well as the material turnover in the system itself (summarized: material balance ). The balancing of the flows takes place mostly at the system boundaries. Material cycles , such as the carbon , nitrogen , sulfur and phosphorus cycles , play an important role . Energy and information flows and sales are not part of the research.
Some important current environmental problem areas are examined with the help of biogeochemical approaches:
- Soil and water acidification
- terrestrial and aquatic eutrophication
- Forest condition , forest damage and forest death
- Soil input from the atmosphere and processes in the soil
- Climate change , cause and consequence, carbon cycle
- The chemical change in the atmosphere and its consequences for vegetation
History of Biogeochemistry
Wladimir Wernadski , a Russian scientist specializing in geology and mineralogy, is considered to be the founder of the science of geochemistry . At the beginning of the 20th century he dealt with the chemical composition of organic substances, the course and effects of geochemical processes in which organisms are involved.
The American geochemist and limnologist George Evelyn Hutchinson is credited with delimiting the scientific field and the principles of the young discipline.
At the end of the 1960s, geochemist James Lovelock and evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulis developed the Gaia hypothesis , according to which the biosphere, together with the inanimate components of the earth's surface, behaves like an independent self-regulating organism and the biosphere significantly regulates the composition of the atmosphere and thus the climate stabilized. This theory, too, is essentially based on biogeochemical relationships. Even if some theses of the Gaia theory are not shared by the scientific majority, it has for the first time brought greater attention to this branch of research and in particular promoted the development of earth system research .
Due to the various environmental problems, biogeochemical research moved further into public awareness in the 1980s. A detailed investigation of the material balance of ecosystems is hoped to provide fundamental information about the function and control of ecosystems and thus a better understanding of the causes of the problem. In the 1990s and 2000s, numerous numerical models for simulating biogeochemical processes were developed in order to better understand the feedback of various ecosystems, for example sediment and ocean as a biogeochemical system.
More recently, the idea of geoengineering developed out of biogeochemistry . The term describes considerations to intervene in geochemical cycles in a technical way, for example to slow down global warming or acidification of the oceans .
See also
literature
- Schlesinger, WH (2005): Biogeochemistry . Vol. 8 in: Treatise on Geochemistry. Elsevier Science, ISBN 0-08-044642-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hutchinson, GE: "A treatise on limnology" Vol I Geography, Physics and Chemistry - 1957, Wiley 1015 pp.
- ↑ Roger Luff: Modeling and balancing of bentic material fluxes and material turnover in marine surface sediments: a model approach to describe diagenetic processes using two case studies . Kiel 2001, DNB 972066748 , urn : nbn: de: gbv: 8-diss-4860 (dissertation, University of Kiel).
- ↑ German Bundestag: Current term Geo-Engineering / Climate Engineering ( Memento from March 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 67 kB), September 12, 2010.