About the

Cycle

It is typically found in

what ionic form?

Human Impact

Circulation in the

Troposphere

Where are the largest sinks

or phosphorous?

By: Brittany Fell & Shauna Kelly

HOME

DEFINITION:Cycle of movement

of phosphorous in different chemical forms from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment

It circulates through water, the earth’s crust, and living organisms

Typically found as phosphates salts containing phosphate ions in terrestrial rock formations and ocean bottom sediments

It limits the growth of producer populations in many fresh water streams and lakes because phosphate is only slightly soluble in waterHOME

The phosphate ion is a polyatomic ion with the empirical formula PO4

3− and a molar mass of 94.973 g/mol.

It consists of one central phosphorus atom surrounded by four identical oxygen atoms in a tetrahedral arrangement.

The phosphate ion carries a negative three formal charge and is the conjugate base of the hydrogen phosphate ion, HPO4

2−, which is the conjugate base of H2PO4

−, the dihydrogen phosphate ion, which in turn is the conjugate base of H3PO4, phosphoric acid. HOME

Humans mine large quantities of phosphate rock for fertilizers and detergents

By removing trees in the tropical forests we reduce the available phosphate

We add excess phosphate to aquatic ecosystems › Runoff of animal

wastes from livestock feedlots

› Runoff from fertilizer from cropland

› Discharge of municipal sewage

HOME

At the earth’s normal temperature and pressure very little phosphorous circulates in the atmosphere because phosphorous is not a gas

It is found only as tiny particles of dust

HOME

Enormous quantities are extracted from earths crust

Therefore China is the second largest phosphorous reserve-rich country in the world

HOME