Entropy and Exergy in the Development of Living Systems: A Case Study of Lake-Ecosystems

Abstract

The entropy production in lake-ecosystem consists of the entropy production dependent on solar radiation and that independent of solar radiation. These entropy productions are calculated and compared for oligotrophic (not so polluted) Lake Biwa and eutrophic (polluted) Lake Mendota. Based on the results, an entropy law for eutrophication is proposed: Entropy production in lake-ecosystems increases with time in the course of eutrophication. On the contrary, in the senescent stage of lake-ecosystems, the trend will be reversed. By extending and generalizing the arguments, an entropy principle is proposed for the life span of living systems from organisms to ecosystems, that is, entropy production in living systems consists of an early increasing stage, an intermediate/transitional stage and a later decreasing stage. By virtue of the Gouy-Stodola theorem, these tendencies are also applied to exergy destruction, which is a thermodynamical quantity closely related to irreversibility of process like entropy pro...