Earth's Biogeochemical Cycles (GEOL90021)

The chemical composition of the atmosphere, ocean and crust is bound up with the evolution of life. Changes in this composition also underlie many environmental issues such as climate change. This course introduces students to the distribution of carbon, oxygen, sulphur, nitrogen, and other elements within the solid earth, ocean and atmosphere and the processes that control their fluxes. Topics include the cycling of key elements between the various reservoirs, the role of biological and physical processes and the perturbation of these cycles. The concepts of mass balance and dynamic equilibrium will underpin these separate areas.