Natural Disasters
Natural Disasters
10th Edition
ISBN: 9780078022982
Author: Patrick Leon Abbott
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
Question
Chapter 12, Problem 1QR
To determine

The fate of the atmospheric CO2 that was loaded in the intense greenhouse climatic atmosphere of earliest Earth.

Expert Solution & Answer
Check Mark

Answer to Problem 1QR

All the atmospheric CO2 that was present in earliest Earth has now been stored in physical forms over geological time.

Explanation of Solution

Early Earth had CO2 in abundance. With the passing time and geological activities, all this CO2 has been fixed in different forms. Major part of this CO2 (about 80%) is now found in chemically bound form in limestone in deep oceans. Limestone is chemically formed of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3). During the early times, CO2 from the atmosphere started dissolving in the ocean water and sediments of CaCO3 were formed. This decreased the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.

When life originated in oceans, the early photosynthesizing organisms also started using CO2 from the atmosphere, resulting in further decrease in levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.

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