In case of which one of the following biogeochemical cycles, the weathering of rocks is the main source of release of nutrient to enter the cycle?

States biogeochemical cycles (including the carbon cycle) involve phases of weathering of rocks followed by uptake/storage by organisms and return to pools.

A student could combine this rule with knowledge of major carbon flux pathways (photosynthesis/respiration vs. rock weathering) to compare whether weathering is likely a dominant nutrient source for the carbon cycle.

Explains chemical weathering (solution/carbonation) dissolves minerals such as calcium carbonate when water contains CO2, showing a concrete mechanism whereby weathering moves inorganic carbon and minerals into solution.

Use basic chemistry and maps of carbonate rock distribution to estimate where and how much inorganic carbon and associated ions may be released by weathering relative to biological carbon fluxes.

Gives an explicit example: phosphates accumulated in sediments are released from rock by weathering, illustrating weathering as a source of nutrients (here P) for ecosystems.

A student could map phosphate-bearing rock exposures and consider their weathering rates to judge the contribution of rock-derived nutrients to biological carbon cycling (e.g., supporting primary productivity).

Describes carbon moving between atmosphere and organisms as a short-term cycle but also notes some carbon is stored long-term as insoluble carbonates in bottom sediments which take long to be released.

Combine this with knowledge of weathering releasing carbonate minerals to assess how weathering controls the long-term release and sequestration of carbon in the global carbon budget.

States weathering breaks rocks into soil and helps enrichment/concentration of minerals important for ecosystems, implying weathering supplies mineral nutrients that affect biological communities.

A student could use basic facts about soil formation and vegetation dependence on soil nutrients to infer how much rock weathering might indirectly control carbon uptake via plant productivity.

Specifies sulphur reservoirs (organic and inorganic in soil and sediments) and lists weathering of rocks, erosional runoff and decomposition as processes that release sulphur into ecosystems.

A student could combine this with external data on relative flux magnitudes (e.g., rates of rock weathering vs. atmospheric inputs) to judge whether weathering is the dominant source.

States that elements held in geologic storage pools are released into soil by weathering and that sulphur can pass from ocean to atmosphere to soil by fallout/washout (showing multiple input pathways).

One could map these pathways and compare terrestrial rock-derived inputs to oceanic-atmospheric deposition using basic world/region maps and known ocean-atmosphere exchanges.

Gives a general rule that biogeochemical cycles involve phases of weathering of rocks, uptake by organisms and return to soil/atmosphere/ocean — implying weathering is a common source step for many element cycles.

Apply this general pattern to sulphur by checking if sulphur's cycle follows the same phase structure and estimating the weathering step's typical contribution.

Emphasizes that weathering produces soils and enriches or concentrates certain elements/ores, showing that weathering can be a major process making geologic elements available to ecosystems.

Use this principle with external knowledge of sulphur-bearing minerals (e.g., pyrite distribution) to infer where and how strongly weathering might supply sulphur nutrients.

Describes chemical weathering processes (dissolution, oxidation, etc.) and notes that water, air and biological acids speed these reactions — mechanisms by which buried sulphur compounds could be mobilized.

Combine these mechanisms with climate/soil data (e.g., wet vs dry climates) to predict where weathering-driven sulphur release would be strongest relative to other sources.