The new technologies and methods allow scientists to characterize phosphorus compounds in water and soil, estimate how fast phosphate cycles through natural reservoirs, estimate long-term phosphorus burial in the oceans through geologic time, pinpoint phosphorus sources in different ecosystems, determine fluctuations in phosphate concentrations at certain times and places, and study the effects of phosphorus pollution in estuaries and lakes. In recent years, AGU meetings, traditionally devoted to geology and geophysics, have increasingly included biology-related topics. It also attempts to evaluate human impact on the system. Phosphorus is crucial to life as a building block of nucleic acids, proteins and lipids. In photosynthesis, plants use ATP and NADP to harness the sun's energy to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide and water into sugar and oxygen.
Most phosphorus is found in rocks, where it is bound in minerals.
Weathering releases phosphorus into soil, where it is utilized and recycled by plants and bacteria. The phosphorus eventually travels through streams to oceans and into marine sediments. Though phosphorus is necessary, too much of a good thing can be bad. Excess phosphate derived from fertilizers, detergents and other human sources makes its way into lakes and coastal waters by runoff, leaching or erosion, causing massive algae blooms that can affect taste and clarity of drinking water. Moreover, when algae die, thick pads sink to the bottom and oxidize, reducing dissolved oxygen and creating an environment inhospitable to fish.