Resources for Teaching about Biogeochemical Cycles

Educators! Are you looking for a way to get your students thinking about the Earth as an interconnected system? If so, consider introducing them to biogeochemical cycles. Through these cycles of the Earth system, such as the carbon and nitrogen cycles, elements travel between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere. Learning about these cycles gives students an understanding of some of the connections between "spheres" of the Earth system!

The resources below are from Windows to the Universe and our partners. We hope you find them useful as you include Earth system science in your classroom!

• Educational resources from Windows to the Universe
  • Earth as a System
  • The Earth System Is Changing
  • Biogeochemical Cycles
  • Earth's Greenhouse Effect
• The Carbon Cycle
  • The Changing Carbon Cycle
  • How much carbon is there? (image)
  • The Carbon Cycle Game (interactive)
  • Living Things Affect Climate
  • Acidic Ocean Water Impacts Corals and Other Marine Life
  • Carbon Dioxide
  • Carbon Monoxide
  • Methane
  • Carbonates
• The Nitrogen Cycle
  • Changing the Nitrogen Cycle, Changing the Planet
  • Fertilizing the Earth with Nitrogen
  • Releasing Nitrogen Pollutants to the Air
  • Nitrogen Molecules
  • Nitric oxides
• 90-Second Podcasts Produced by the National Science Foundation
  • Changing Change
  • Gasoline Plant
  • Tropical Punch
• Classroom Activities from Windows to the Universe
  • Carbon Dioxide - Sources and Sinks Experiment with the carbon cycle!
  • Using the Carbon Cycle Interactive Game in the Classroom Through an online game, students learn how carbon cycles through the Earth system
  • Plugged in to CO2 Students investigate various appliances and electronics, discovering how much energy each uses and how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is released to produce that energy.
    
  • CO2: How Much Do You Spew? Students analyze the energy consumption of a hypothetical household to determine the amount of carbon dioxide they are adding to the atmosphere each year.
  • Using the Very, Very Simple Climate Model in the Classroom
  • The Traveling Nitrogen Game Become a nitrogen atom and travel through the cycle!
• Profiles of Scientists who Study Biogeochemical Cycles at the National Center for Atmospheric Research
  • Geoffrey Tyndall studies atmospheric chemistry of molecules containing carbon such as those from vegetation or fossil fuels
  • Joan Kleypas researches how carbon dioxide affects coral reefs
  • Britton Stephens builds instruments that he and other scientists can use to study the global carbon cycle
  • Beth Holland studies the link between the chemistry of the atmosphere and ecosystems on Earth
  • Peter Thornton looks at interactions between different biogeochemical species (such as carbon and nitrogen) and Earth's climate system

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