The Atmosphere and Oceans

The Atmosphere and Oceans

The atmosphere is a cocktail of gases . The exact amounts of each gas

vary as the amount of water vapour is variable.

Name of Gas

Amount in air

%

Nitrogen

Oxygen

Argon

78

21

1

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is tiny (0.01%).

The amounts of carbon dioxide and oxygen gas are balanced and stay the

same.

Photosynthesis in plants converts carbon dioxide into oxygen.

Breathing and burning convert oxygen into carbon dioxide.

Burning a lot of fossil fuels destroys the balance by putting a lot of

carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This traps the sun's rays and will

not allow them to escape, this is called the greenhouse effect. This

causes the earth to become hotter and is called global warming.

Problems caused by this are more violent weather and melting ice-caps

making the sea rise.

Burning fossil fuels that contain sulphur also makes the gas sulphur

dioxide which dissolves in clouds and causes acid rain. Problems

caused by acid rain include dissolving buildings and plant and animal

life being damaged.

In prehistoric times the atmosphere was made up of carbon dioxide and

ammonia.

The oceans formed by water dissolving salt from the rocks , this salt

stays in the oceans because it does not evaporate when water does.

Oil

===

Oil is formed over millions of years by the dead bodies of marine

animals decaying trapped under layers of sedimentary rocks. Rocks that

allow oil to pass through them are called permeable rocks. Oil becomes

trapped in pockets of rock that will not allow it to escape called

non-permeable rocks.

Oil is a non- renewable fuel because it takes a very long time to form

and it is being used faster than it is formed , it will eventually run

out.

Oil is made up of many different substances called hydrocarbons .