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| Description: Origin of the Atmosphere and Oceans Earth’s primitive atmosphere, which consisted mainly of H2O vapor and CO2, formed by a process called outgassing Gases trapped in the planet’s interior are released by volcanic eruptions This process continues today Water vapor condensed to form clouds and rainwater that formed the oceans About 3.5 billion years ago, photosynthesizing bacteria began to release oxygen Oxygen levels steadily increased over time Eventually oxygen levels were sufficient for ozone to develop in the atmosphere Outgassing produced acidic conditions that caused an accelerated rate of weathering of Earth’s rocky surface Products of this weathering were carried to the oceans, thus increasing the salinity of the oceans Oceans also served as a depository for carbon dioxide Picture Stats: Views: 220 Filesize: 1.28MB Height: 768 Width: 1100 Source: https://biology-forums.com/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=39628 |