Biogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment (including the biosphere, the cryosphere, the hydrosphere, the pedosphere, the atmosphere, and the lithosphere). In particular, biogeochemistry is the study of biogeochemical cycles, the cycles of chemical elements such as carbon and nitrogen, and their interactions with and incorporation into living things transported through earth scale biological systems in space and time. The field focuses on chemical cycles which are either driven by or influence biological activity. Particular emphasis is placed on the study of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, iron, and phosphorus cycles. Biogeochemistry is a systems science closely related to systems ecology.
Biogeochemical in the context of Water column
The (oceanic) water column is a concept used in oceanography to describe the physical (temperature, salinity, light penetration) and chemical (pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrient salts) characteristics of seawater at different depths for a defined geographical point. Generally, vertical profiles are made of temperature, salinity, chemical parameters at a defined point along the water column. The water column is the largest, yet one of the most under-explored, habitats on the planet; it is explored to better understand the ocean as a whole, including the huge biomass that lives there and its importance to the global carbon and other biogeochemical cycles. Studying the water column also provides understanding on the links between living organisms and environmental parameters, large-scale water circulation and the transfer of matter between water masses.
Water columns are used chiefly for environmental studies evaluating the stratification or mixing of thermal or chemically stratified layers in a lake, stream or ocean. Some of the common parameters analyzed in the water column are pH, turbidity, temperature, hydrostatic pressure, salinity, total dissolved solids, various pesticides, pathogens and a wide variety of chemicals and biota.
View the full Wikipedia page for Water columnBiogeochemical in the context of Benthic boundary layer
The benthic boundary layer (BBL) is the layer of water directly above the sediment at the bottom of a body of water (river, lake, sea, etc.). Through specific sedimentation processes, certain organisms are able to live in this deep layer of water. The BBL is generated by the friction of the water moving over the surface of the substrate, which decreases the water current significantly in this layer. The thickness of this zone is determined by many factors, including the Coriolis force. The benthic organisms and processes in this boundary layer echo the water column above them.
The BBL serves as a transitional zone between the water column and the sediment layer by regulating biogeochemical processes and the flux of nutrients and organic materials. This zone also serves as the main layer of resistance for the shift of mass, heat, and nutrients from the sediment to the water, or vice versa. It is this area of interaction between the two environments that is important in many species' reproductive strategies, particularly larvae dispersal. The benthic boundary layer also contains nutrients important in fisheries, a wide array of microscopic life, a variety of suspended materials, and sharp energy gradients. It is also the sink for many anthropogenic substances released into the environment, as the substances commonly sink to the bottom of the water column.
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