How does erosion affect the phosphorus cycle?
1 Answer
Apr 25, 2016
It puts phosphorous into solution and carries it back into the ocean.
Explanation:
Phosphorous is weathered out of rocks by weak carbonic acid that forms in the atmosphere. It puts phosphorous into solution and it is carried down to the oceans where it often re-precipitates as phosphate rock or incorporated into some marine organisms (such as shark teeth or bones). Some of the phosphorous might not make it to the oceans and be deposited in soils along river banks.
