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Geologic processes, such as weathering, erosion, water drainage, and the subduction of the continental plates, all play a role in this recycling of materials. Because geology and chemistry have major roles in the study of this process, the recycling of inorganic matter between living organisms and their environment is called a biogeochemical cycle.
Phosphorus occurs most abundantly in nature as part of the orthophosphate ion (PO 4) 3−, consisting of a P atom and 4 oxygen atoms. On land most phosphorus is found in rocks and minerals. Phosphorus-rich deposits have generally formed in the ocean or from guano, and over time, geologic processes bring ocean sediments to land.
Some [who?] may use the terms biogeochemical cycle and geochemical cycle interchangeably because both cycles deal with Earth's reservoirs.However, a biogeochemical cycle refers to the chemical interactions in surface reservoirs such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere [citation needed] whereas a geochemical cycle refers to the chemical interactions that exist in crustal ...
Solidified lava flow in Hawaii Sedimentary layers in Badlands National Park, South Dakota Metamorphic rock, Nunavut, Canada. Geology (from Ancient Greek γῆ (gê) 'earth' and λoγία () 'study of, discourse') [1] [2] is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. [3]
This diamond is a mineral from within an igneous or metamorphic rock that formed at high temperature and pressure. The rock cycle is a basic concept in geology that describes transitions through geologic time among the three main rock types: sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous.
This process is known as lithification. Igneous rocks have crystallised from a melt or magma. The melt is made up of various components of pre-existing rocks which have been subjected to melting either at subduction zones or within the Earth's mantle. The melt is hot and so passes upward through cooler country rock.
Sailing stones (also called sliding rocks, walking rocks, rolling stones, and moving rocks) are part of the geological phenomenon in which rocks move and inscribe long tracks along a smooth valley floor without animal intervention. The movement of the rocks occurs when large, thin sheets of ice floating on an ephemeral winter pond move and ...
Magmatism is one of the main processes responsible for mountain formation. The nature of magmatism depends on the tectonic setting . [ 1 ] For example, andesitic magmatism is associated with the formation of island arcs at convergent plate boundaries while basaltic magmatism is found at mid-ocean ridges during sea-floor spreading at divergent ...