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The Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere together hold less than 0.05% of the Earth's total mass of oxygen. Besides O 2 , additional oxygen atoms are present in various forms spread throughout the surface reservoirs in the molecules of biomass , H 2 O , CO 2 , HNO 3 , NO , NO 2 , CO , H 2 O 2 , O 3 , SO 2 , H 2 SO 4 , MgO , CaO ...
The evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis in the atmosphere amplified the productivity of the biosphere, increasing biodiversity. [7] With the presence of photosynthesis providing oxygen to the atmosphere, respiration soon evolved to provide the necessary components photosynthesis demanded to function.
The five components of the climate system all interact. They are the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere. [1]: 1451 Earth's climate system is a complex system with five interacting components: the atmosphere (air), the hydrosphere (water), the cryosphere (ice and permafrost), the lithosphere (earth's upper rocky layer) and the biosphere (living things).
The major parts of the biosphere are connected by the flow of chemical elements and compounds in biogeochemical cycles. In many of these cycles, the biota plays an important role. Matter from the Earth's interior is released by volcanoes. The atmosphere exchanges some compounds and elements rapidly with the biota and oceans.
The word oxygen in the literature typically refers to molecular oxygen (O 2) since it is the common product or reactant of many biogeochemical redox reactions within the cycle. [37] Processes within the oxygen cycle are considered to be biological or geological and are evaluated as either a source (O 2 production) or sink (O 2 consumption). [36 ...
Free oxygen did not exist in the atmosphere until about 2.4 billion years ago during the Great Oxygenation Event and its appearance is indicated by the end of banded iron formations (which signals the depletion of substrates that can react with oxygen to produce ferric deposits) during the early Proterozoic eon.
Oxygen gas is the second most common component of the Earth's atmosphere, taking up 20.8% of its volume and 23.1% of its mass (some 10 15 tonnes). [19] [70] [d] Earth is unusual among the planets of the Solar System in having such a high concentration of oxygen gas in its atmosphere: Mars (with 0.1% O 2 by volume) and Venus have much less. The O
By the most general biophysiological definition, the biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The biosphere is postulated to have evolved, beginning with a process of biopoiesis (life ...