1) Earth's surface was
molten for millions of years,
it was too hot so any
atmosphere would just boil
away.
2) When things cooled
down, a thin crust
formed on the Earth's
surface. Volcanoes
kept erupting.
3) Volcanoes gave out lots of
gas - Carbon dioxide, water
vapor etc. and this is how it is
thought that oceans and the
atmosphere were formed.
4) According to this theory,
the early atmosphere was
most likely CO2, with virtually
no oxygen.
5) The oceans formed
when the water vapor
condensed.
Phase 2
1) A lot of the early
CO2 dissolved into
the oceans.
2) Marine organisms
developed and took in some
of this CO2. When they died
they were buried under layers
of sediment and the CO2
became "locked up in
carbonate rocks.
3) Green plants evolved over most
of the Earth. They also removed
CO2 from the air and produced O2
by photosynthesis. Helping the
oxygen to gradually increase.
Phase 3
1) The build-up of oxygen in the
atmosphere killed off some early
organisms that couldn't tolerate it,
but it allowed other, more complex
organisms to live and flourish.
2) The oxygen also created the ozone
layer which blocked harmful rays from
the sun and enabled even more
complex organisms to evolve.
3) There is very little CO2
left now.
Today's Atmosphere
Evidence for how the
atmosphere evolved has been
found in rocks and other sources,
but there are just theories.
Changes in the
Atmosphere
Human Activity
Burning fossil fuels - this
releases CO2
Deforestation - Less trees for
photosynthesis, means more
CO2 left
Livestock farming -
releases a lot of
methane (when
animals pass wind)
Volcanic activity
Sulfur dioxide - Forms smog
Carbon dioxide - released during eruptions
A lot of evidence of
atmospheric change
found out from
antarctic ice cores
Each year, a layer of ice forms and
bubbles of air get trapped inside it,
then that is buried in the next layer.
The deeper the ice,
the older the air
If you examine the bubbles, you can see
how the air has changed over the years.
(changes between layers can be very, very
tiny)
CO2 is a greenhouse gas
and there's a general
consensus that rising
levels are causing global
warming