Materials Recycled

The Carbon Cycle:

Carbon is a part of everything within this planet. If carbon didn't exist, neither would we. Most of our Earths carbon is stored within the ground and rocks, which flows between the spheres as the Carbon Cycle. This cycle is to make sure that any carbon is evenly cycled through and distributed, to ensure that it isn't all being let into the atmosphere or stored completely in rocks, which in turn keeps Earths temperature in a even balance. 

Firstly, The carbon enters into Earth's atmosphere through the form of Carbon Dioxide. This can happen from human and animal breathing and similar bodily processes, or carbon atoms can be released via human induced activities, such as composting or the burning of fossil fuels. Carbon is immediately absorbed by plants, as it is utilized for the process of photosynthesis, a procedure to make sugar, as well as oxygen - Which is released into the atmosphere again for the use of humans and animals. Animals then use that oxygen through 'Respiration', and produce more Carbon Dioxide. Animals also receive carbon through their diet and compontents they consume. As carbon is absorbed by animals eating carbon-containing plants, that source of carbon travels up the food chain. And as plants and animals die off, they decompose into the ground, become fossil fuels, or are eaten by decomposers. Thus the cycle is able to repeat.

Therefore, Carbon is used throughout the ecosystem of Ningaloo Reef, as it becomes absorbed or filtered by plants, water or animals.

The Water Cycle:

The Water Cycle demonstrates the entire and continuous movement of water within the Earth and it's Atmosphere. It contains many complex processes, from evaporation to condensation or precipitation. It also draws on the exchange of heat energy and different changes and levels in the atmosphere, all of are necessary for the cycle to continue. 

The cycle begins with Evaporation, where water is turned into vapors as it absorbed heat energy from the sun, and travels from the hydrosphere (oceans, rivers, lakes) into the atmosphere. Water vapors can also be gathered from a process called Sublimation, where ice instantly converts into water vapor, skipping the liquid stage. As the water vapors rise to the higher altitudes of the atmosphere, it is turned into tiny particles of ice or water droplets as it reaches those lower temperatures, where they condense into clouds or fog. Due to temperature or wind changes, the condensed vapors (clouds) then undergo 'precipitation' under the form of rain, sleet, hail or snow. This occurs because the water droplets join to much and become heavier, until the atmosphere cannot continue holding them. As is rains or the water undergoes precipitation, some of it is absorbed by the soil, which leads to transpiration, where it is then taken up by the roots of plants to be used for energy. During Precipitation, water also is caught or lands on rock or other formations, where it runs over the surface of earth via Run-off. If there is water that isn't evaporated or runs off into oceans or other bodies of water, will be absorbed by plants and soil in Infiltration, where water resides under soil or as 'underground water tables'.

This cycle correlates to a Reef ecosystem as water runs off into the ocean, is evaporated or water re-enters the water through precipitation, to be consumed by life both in and around the water.

The Nitrogen Cycle:

Nitrogenic compounds such as proteins are essential for life, and it makes up for most of our air, about 79% of it is unreactive nitrogen gas. But although we need nitrogen, we do not have the capabilities to absorb it ourselves, so instead it needs to be converted, which is where the cycle comes in. 

Nitrogen is a very difficult to break down, and to carry it out requires a large amount of energy. To do so there forms three processes that result in nitrogen fixation in the biosphere:

• Atmospheric Fixation: The use of lightning to cause nitrogen fixation. This can be completed due to the massive amounts of energy lightning strikes hold, which in turn enables nitrogen molecules to be broken down and their atoms can them be fused with oxygen within the air - forming nitrogen oxide. Nitrogen oxide is then dissolved and carried via rain in the form of nitrates, that are then carried back down to earth. 

• Industrial Fixation: Fixation can also be achieved under enormous amounts of pressure and temperatures of 600°C, and by using a catalyst, we can combine nitrogen with hydrogen to give us ammonia. 

• Biological Fixation: The ability to be able to fixate nitrogen can be found in some certain bacteria and archaea, whether they live in symbiotic relationships with other plant life or are able to reside freely in the soil, and they require a complete set of enzymes and also need 16 'moles' of 'Adenosine triphosphate' or (ATP) in order to be able to break down each mole into nitrogen.

Protein or Carbon pass throughout plants and animals and food webs just as carbohydrates or any other nutrient can. For each organism or animal, their metabolism will produce nitrogen - mainly via excretion - that will return back into the environment, where decomposing micro-organisms break it down into ammonia. Some ammonia is then taken up by plants through their roots, although most of the ammonia is turned into nitrates, hence Nitrification, the process of nitrogen compound oxidization. It consists of a 2-step process of converting ammonia into nitrate via soil bacteria Nitrosomonas, and Nitrococcus converts ammonia into Nitrogen Dioxide. Afterwards Nitro bacter is able to convert Nitrogen Dioxide into nitrate as well.

Oceans and Reefs play an important role within the carbon cycle, as the surface of the body of water contributes to an exchange of gases with the atmosphere, both absorbing and releasing its carbon dioxide, as well as oxygen. Plankton with plant-like qualities residing in the ocean create sugars from the conversion of carbon dioxide, which in turn provide nutrients and food for the ecosystem.

The Phosphorus Cycle:

The Phosphorus cycle defines the cycle that is the transformation and relocation of phosphorus within contents of soil, water and living or dead organisms or organic matter. It engages in a central role for the transfer of energy between organisms, and for the composition of materials like cell membranes, bones and teeth.

This cycle starts within the crust of the Earth, due to the large amount of phosphorus found in the rocks. Phosphate in the form of salts are then broken down from the rocks, and are then washed away into the ground, where they are able to fuse into the soil. This is called Weathering in the phosphorus cycle. The phosphate salts within soil and water are then absorbed by the plants, taking in the phosphorus themselves. Within farming, the amount of phosphorus contained in soil is less significantly, becoming the reason that phosphate fertilizers are used in agriculture. Aquatic plants also absorb phosphorus through the lower layers in bodies of water, although phosphate salts do not dissolve completely in water. Phosphorus can be absorbed by animals that consume plants or plant-eating organisms, where the phosphorus rate is higher compared to the rate from rocks. Finally, as plants and animals die and are decomposed, the organic form of phosphorus is recycled back into soil and water due to weathering, all for the cycle to start over again.

The availability of Phosphorus in a oceanic ecosystem impacts species distribution and the structure of the ecosystem. Phosphorus in the ocean also increases the rate of production of microbes, as well as phytoplankton, which are necessary as the base of the food chain.