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
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