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Q: How long ago did the atmosphere on earth have the most carbon dioxide?
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What is carbon monoxide cycle?

Carbon monoxide is first produced by either human activities involving combustion or a variety of natural processes. From there on, it reacts with oxygen/hydrogen radicals in the atmosphere and become carbon dioxide. The fact that most carbon monoxide will become carbon dioxide when left in the atmosphere long enough can help explain why the carbon monoxide cycle is not taught in school.


What two sources take CO2 out of the atmosphere?

The ocean removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere as part of the carbon cycle. This carbon recycles round and returns to the atmosphere again.Trees, forests and all growing vegetation remove CO2 from the atmosphere, release the oxygen, and store the carbon. If it is a long living tree, it can store that carbon for hundreds of years.


How are forests able to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it for years?

All trees and different types of vegetation can. The trees and plants don't store all of the carbon dioxide for years because some plants die, and some trees drop leaves in the fall. What happens is in the summer when the trees get new leaves and grow more wood in the form of branches and a larger trunk, then they store a lot of carbon dioxide. However, in the fall, when the leaves fall and they decompose, a portion of the carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere. The majority of the carbon dioxide is stored, or sequestered, in the wood of the trees and the remaining parts of the plants (such as stems, roots). That is until they are consumed by rotting, or decomposing, or by being burned. Then the carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere once more. Since trees live a very long time, a lot of carbon dioxide is stored for a very long time.


How are global temperatures expected to change on a long term basis?

Global temperatures are expected to rise on a long term basis. The earth is warming now because of carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere thirty years ago. Even if we completely stopped carbon emissions now the earth would continue to warm up for some time.


Name one disadvantage of using coal and natural gas to generate electricity?

Burning coal and natural gas releases long held carbon dioxide which is extra to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The carbon cycle can't cope with the extra carbon dioxide and it stays in the atmosphere trapping the sun's heat, causing global warming.

Related questions

Why is there more carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere?

There is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now because we have been burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) for more than 200 years. This burning adds long-hidden carbon dioxide, so it is too much for the carbon cycle to completely recycle.


How can you prevent co2 from entering the atmosphere?

from outside the atmosphere? there is no problem regarding that because space is a vacuum. BUT CO2 has already entered our atmosphere. As long as there are organisms that thrive through the process of respiration, you can't eliminate carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Even the earth itself releases carbon dioxide without the help of organisms. --- ANSWER: DEPENDS. ^_^


What would happen to the atmosphere's temperatures if there wasn't any carbon dioxide?

The atmosphere would be slightly cooler than it is now if there were no carbon dioxide in it. Carbon dioxide is just one of several so-called "greenhouse gasses". It is second in importance to water vapor, a very distant second. So, if all the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere suddenly disappeared, it would not affect temperatures very much. What you have to worry about is the effect on plant life. Plants cannot survive without carbon dioxide. No trees, no crops. Fortunately, it's just not possible to deplete all of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Even over the long term. There are plenty of sources for carbon dioxide, including the burning of fossil fuels and respiration of animal life. And if that all ran out, then you have about a hundred times as much CO2 stored in the oceans as there is in the atmosphere, and that would go back into the atmosphere rather quickly.


Explain why burning biodiesel fuel has a differen impact pn atmospheric CO2 concentrations than does burning fossil fuels?

Biodiesel contains carbon that was recently present in the atmosphere rather than fossil-fuel carbon that was in the atmosphere long ago and has been sequestered beneath Earth's surface. Hence the burning of biodiesel does not contribute to a net increase in the amount of carbon dioxide currently circulating in the atmosphere, whereas the burning of fossil fuel does contribute to a net increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.


What would happen to the atmosphere's temperatures if there wasn't any carbon?

The atmosphere would be slightly cooler than it is now if there were no carbon dioxide in it. Carbon dioxide is just one of several so-called "greenhouse gasses". It is second in importance to water vapor, a very distant second. So, if all the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere suddenly disappeared, it would not affect temperatures very much. What you have to worry about is the effect on plant life. Plants cannot survive without carbon dioxide. No trees, no crops. Fortunately, it's just not possible to deplete all of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Even over the long term. There are plenty of sources for carbon dioxide, including the burning of fossil fuels and respiration of animal life. And if that all ran out, then you have about a hundred times as much CO2 stored in the oceans as there is in the atmosphere, and that would go back into the atmosphere rather quickly.


What is carbon monoxide cycle?

Carbon monoxide is first produced by either human activities involving combustion or a variety of natural processes. From there on, it reacts with oxygen/hydrogen radicals in the atmosphere and become carbon dioxide. The fact that most carbon monoxide will become carbon dioxide when left in the atmosphere long enough can help explain why the carbon monoxide cycle is not taught in school.


What happens to the earth's atmosphere as more fossil fuels are burned?

The earth's atmosphere becomes warmer (global warming) because burning fossil fuels releases long-hidden carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases capture heat rising from the warm earth that would otherwise be lost in space.


What two sources take CO2 out of the atmosphere?

The ocean removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere as part of the carbon cycle. This carbon recycles round and returns to the atmosphere again.Trees, forests and all growing vegetation remove CO2 from the atmosphere, release the oxygen, and store the carbon. If it is a long living tree, it can store that carbon for hundreds of years.


Why does air never fill up with carbon dioxide?

Ninety-nine percent of the atmosphere is already filled with nitrogen and oxygen, and carbon dioxide makes up less that 1% of the rest. So it will take a long time for the air to fill up with carbon dioxide.


What human activities do not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?

Riding a bicycle is carbon neutral, which means it has no carbon footprint. It does not increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the air.Many other human activities, particularly sports and exercise are carbon neutral. But whenever you turn on some electrical gadget or ride in a fossil fueled vehicle you start increasing the carbon dioxide in the air.


Why is there an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

burning fossil fuels


What can act like a long-term thermostat for the Earth's average temperature?

The carbon dioxide cycle.