User talk:Annikaj3/sandbox

Lead
This section gives a good brief description of the iron cycle while avoiding simple rephrasing of the other content of the article. It leaves detailed discussion for later sections focusing on the big picture of some of the major iron reservoirs and fluxes. It also highlights the biological relevance. The first sentence could also point out the biosphere, and use the term hydrosphere instead of ocean, because rivers and glaciers also play a role. It might help to emphasize the importance of this cycle if the fact that iron is the 4th most abundant element in the crust is moved here; it would probably fit in the second sentence. Since HNLC is a specific term that has a Wikipedia page, it could be linked. For the last sentence, it focuses on movement from the land to the ocean through the atmosphere, but not other fluxes between major reservoirs. Instead of saying just dust, perhaps it could be referred to as aeolian dust, and linked to the aeolian processes page.

Structure
The overall organization of the article is easy to follow. The breakdown of oceanic and terrestrial is appropriate and helpful. The sections are also in an order that makes sense. Content in each of the sections fits under the section title. If anything, maybe the biological elements could fit into their own section, where some iron oxidizers and reducers are mentioned (I’m biased as a molecular biologist). Additionally, I am wondering whether the oddly-titled “History of Iron Cycling on Earth” section of the current article will appear in the final version. It is interesting from an astrobiological perspective and it links the iron cycle to the oxygen cycle.

Coverage
The balance of the article is good, discussing all major reservoirs: land, water, life, and the air. I do, however, think that there could be a small disparity between the lead section and the overview. This is because the lead refers to the iron cycle as the movement of iron atoms from one environment to the other. In the overview, it is defined differently as the change of oxidation state of iron. The change in iron oxidation state is a critical part of the iron cycle, but I think is not the meaning of the iron cycle which also involves spatial elements. Also, in the first paragraph of the overview section both biotically and abiotically-driven change in iron oxidation state are mentioned, but an example is only given for abiotic change. It is good that a range of things are covered, from dust to glaciers and hydrothermal vents.

Content
A neutral tone is maintained in this article. It is unbiased, and I feel as a reader that I am being informed and not persuaded. I have not identified anything off-topic for the iron cycle. It does not group statements into majority or minority opinions and is free of leading language.