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By mole fraction (i.e., by quantity of molecules), dry air contains 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other trace gases (see Composition below for more detail). Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere.
Oxygen began building up in the prebiotic atmosphere at approximately 1.85 Ga during the Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic boundary, a paleogeological event known as the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE). At current rates of primary production, today's concentration of oxygen could be produced by photosynthetic organisms in 2,000 years. [4]
The concentration of oxygen (O 2) in sea-level air is 20.9%, so the partial pressure of O 2 (pO 2) is 21.136 kilopascals (158.53 mmHg). In healthy individuals, this saturates hemoglobin, the oxygen-binding red pigment in red blood cells. [8]
Dissolved oxygen levels required by various species in the Chesapeake Bay (US). In aquatic environments, oxygen saturation is a ratio of the concentration of "dissolved oxygen" (DO, O 2), to the maximum amount of oxygen that will dissolve in that water body, at the temperature and pressure which constitute stable equilibrium conditions.
The unusually high concentration of oxygen gas on Earth is the result of the oxygen cycle. This biogeochemical cycle describes the movement of oxygen within and between its three main reservoirs on Earth: the atmosphere, the biosphere, and the lithosphere .
Air is typically around 21% oxygen, and at sea level, the PO 2 of air is typically around 159 mmHg. [2] Humidity dilutes the concentration of oxygen in air. As air is inhaled into the lungs, it mixes with water and exhaust gasses including CO 2, further diluting the oxygen concentration and lowering the PO 2.
A breathing gas is a mixture of gaseous chemical elements and compounds used for respiration. Air is the most common and only natural breathing gas. Other mixtures of gases, or pure oxygen, are also used in breathing equipment and enclosed habitats such as scuba equipment, surface supplied diving equipment, recompression chambers, high-altitude mountaineering, high-flying aircraft, submarines ...
Fraction of inspired oxygen (F I O 2), correctly denoted with a capital I, [1] is the molar or volumetric fraction of oxygen in the inhaled gas. Medical patients experiencing difficulty breathing are provided with oxygen-enriched air, which means a higher-than-atmospheric F I O 2. Natural air includes 21% oxygen, which is equivalent to F I O 2 ...