Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere
Chemistry: AQA GCSE Higher, topic 9.1.4
The Decrease in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
At least 3 factors caused atmospheric carbon dioxide to decrease:
Oceans
- The formation of oceans removed large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
- Once dissolved in the oceans, some of this carbon dioxide reacted with seawater to give carbonate precipitates.
Photosynthesis
- Carbon dioxide is one of the reactants of the equation for photosynthesis.
- So, the photosynthetic action of algae and plants removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Marine animals
- The evolution of marine animals removed carbonates from the oceans as the animals used these to build their shells and skeletons.
Test yourself on Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere
Name the three factors that contributed to the decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide
Why did the evolution of photosynthetic organisms decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide levels?
Why did carbon dioxide dissolving in the oceans permanently lower atmospheric carbon dioxide levels?
How are the formation of the oceans and the evolution of marine animals linked in reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide?