Abstract
Unfortunately, fertilizer naturally creates an excessive supply of nitrogen and disturbs the overall cycle that normally takes place in the soil (UCAR Center for Science Education, 2017). From human intervention alone, nearly 6 billion tons of carbon is released from cars, power plants, and trucks alone on an annual basis, and almost 50 percent of this astronomical figure remains stuck in the atmosphere (UCAR Center for Science Education, 2017). This traps heat beneath the ozone layer, causing the Earth to become warmer over time regardless of seasonal changes. Unlike rural areas around the countryside, major cities contain significant pavements to sidewalks and roads, removing the possibility of any moisture or vegetation to absorb the heat from the atmosphere and cool over the landscape. Without vegetation to reduce the speed of the water as it moves down steep hills, additional sediment combines into streams which opens up dangerous possibilities for flooding. Urbanization which is not entirely limited to mass pavement of roads and establishments forces more sewage and wastewater to be discharged into nearby streams.
Questions and Answers
The nutrient cycle can be simplified into an exchange including organic and inorganic manner taking place between living organisms and the physical environment. In the event that the neighbor applies fertilizer to his lawn, he is providing the soil with life sustaining macronutrients such as potassium, phosphorous, and nitrogen. However, soil is generally responsible for maintaining an equilibrium between macronutrients and micronutrients. An excessive supply of either type will cause a shortage in the other, removing the possibility for the plant to acquire all the necessary nutrients. Eventually, this leads to an accumulation of the chemical known as nitrogen in the soil over time, inevitably affecting the cycle itself, one of many biogeochemical cycles (UCAR Center for Science Education, 2017). Despite the fact that the plant will acquire and then convert nitrogen into a form of energy that is consumable, an excessive supply of the chemical will provide a breeding ground for unwanted weeds. In the majority of cases, nitrogen is absorbed by plants as nitrates and bacteria, converting leftover ammonium into nitrates as well. The bacteria then alters the nitrates into a form of nitrogen gas. Unfortunately, fertilizer naturally creates an excessive supply of nitrogen and disturbs the overall cycle that normally takes place in the soil (UCAR Center for Science Education, 2017).
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"Human Impact on Biogeochemical Cycles".
Nearly every motor vehicle, including the standard car, is powered by the burning of fossil fuels and gasoline for energy. Upon combustion, which allows the car to move, carbon dioxide is released from the exhaust port. This form of energy has proven to pollute the atmosphere and severely impact the nutrient cycles, yet it has continued for the fact that it is an incredibly efficient source of power. The majority of the released carbon dioxide will enter the atmosphere in the form of gas. From human intervention alone, nearly 6 billion tons of carbon is released from cars, power plants, and trucks alone on an annual basis, and almost 50 percent of this astronomical figure remains stuck in the atmosphere (UCAR Center for Science Education, 2017). This traps heat beneath the ozone layer, causing the Earth to become warmer over time regardless of seasonal changes. According to information acquired from ice cores, the Earth’s atmosphere has not held as much carbon as it currently does in over 400,000 years. Global climate air temperature has now increased by over one degree Fahrenheit (UCAR Center for Science Education, 2017). Furthermore, exhaust released from trucks and cars produce significant sources of nitrogen oxide, a chemical responsible for multiple classifications of air pollution, including the dark red haze commonly known as smog. Nitrogen dioxide combines through various chemical reactions and transforms Volatile Organic Compounds into Peroxyacytyl nitrate (PAN), another component found in smog (UCAR Center for Science Education, 2017). Water vapor and nitrogen dioxide react to compose nitric acid, the main ingredient in acidic rain. Although nitric oxide exists in the air without carbon dioxide emissions from cars, the concentration increases by nearly 200 percent in smog.
Unlike rural areas around the countryside, major cities contain significant pavements to sidewalks and roads, removing the possibility of any moisture or vegetation to absorb the heat from the atmosphere and cool over the landscape. Unfortunately, rooftops, asphalt, and concrete do not behave the same way as they absorb all the energy of the sun throughout the day and release most of it at night time. According to the American Meteorological Study, temperatures are recorded to be nearly 15 degrees higher in areas around New York City than rural communities close to 50 miles away (US Geological Survey, 2016). Further analysis between the percent of watershed land covers and water quality have proven that high stream concentrations of both phosphorous and inorganic nitrogen are directly connected to urban land usage. The removal of vegetation and trees in substitution for houses and buildings causes excessive erosion and storm runoff. Without vegetation to reduce the speed of the water as it moves down steep hills, additional sediment combines into streams which opens up dangerous possibilities for flooding. Urbanization which is not entirely limited to mass pavement of roads and establishments forces more sewage and wastewater to be discharged into nearby streams. To supply the population, new distribution systems in the form of reservoirs, deep drilled wells, and altered stream channels are constructed. In addition to contributing to general climate change, additional pavement removes the ability for the correct amount of water to be soaked into the ground (US Geological Survey, 2016). As a result, the underground water table will fail to have the necessary water for the purpose of recharging which continues to lower the table.
Often, manmade wells will fail to be deep enough to acquire water, running dry and forcing relocation. In response to this, many construction companies will build an excessive amount of wells, further reducing the water table underground. Additional sewage is driven to streams that could never hold as much water as they are receiving, causing the saltwater to be drawn into the wells needed for drinking water and any land that was sustained by underground water to collapse. This creates land subsidence and sinkholes (US Geological Survey, 2016). To solve these problems, improvements to the general drainage systems are being made. For example, modern drilling is designed to recharge aquifers found in the underground water table instead of reduce it. Ponds have been ecologically altered by environmental companies to disperse as much storm drainage as possible directly into shallow aquifers thereby recharging the water supply (US Geological Survey, 2016). By reusing wastewater, more water is conserved, and less pollution occurs as a result.
- UCAR Center for Science Education. (2017). Biogeochemical Cycles. Retrieved November 4, 2017, from https://scied.ucar.edu/longcontent/biogeochemical-cycles
- US Geological Survey. (2016, December 2). How urbanization affects the hydrologic system. Retrieved November 4, 2017, from https://water.usgs.gov/edu/urbaneffects.html
