History of our Atmosphere

There are many theories about how the Earth’s atmosphere

evolved. The Earth was formed roughly 4.6 billion years ago,
which means that there is not much evidence left on how the
atmosphere evolved.
Current Theory
 For the first billion years of the Earth’s existence, highly

active volcanoes populated the surface.

 Their frequent eruptions caused the release of large

quantities of carbon dioxide, with little or no oxygen

present in atmosphere
 The intense volcanic activity also released of a lot of

nitrogen, which gradually accumulated in the atmosphere,

and water vapour, which condensed to form the oceans.
Smaller quantities of methane and ammonia may also have
been emitted.
 The formation of oceans resulted in the removal of large

amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Once

dissolved in the oceans, some of this carbon dioxide
reacted with seawater to produce carbonate precipitates
that were deposited as sediment.
How oxygen increased
 Photosynthesis caused the increase in the atmospheric

concentration of oxygen.
Carbon dioxide + water →light →glucose + oxygen
6CO2+6H2O→light→C6H12O6+6O2
 The first photosynthetic organisms to evolve were algae

approximately 2.7 billion years ago.

 Over the next billion years, photosynthesising plants began

to evolve, leading to increasing levels of oxygen in the

atmosphere.
 Eventually, a concentration level of oxygen was reached

that allowed for the evolution of more complex life forms,

such as animals.