- #1
Newbie1
- 8
- 0
in the middle of the sea where there are no trees around?.
Beause penguins eat them alltiny-tim said:in the middle of the sky where there are no fish around?
The oceans are teeming with plant-life that can produce oxygen. Oxygen in the air is also entrained into sea-water by wave action.Newbie1 said:in the middle of the sea where there are no trees around?.
mgb_phys said:Most of the world's oxygen (70%) is produced by plants (or green stuff depening on how fussy you want to be about the definition of plants) living on the oceans.
It does also blow around quite a lot in the atmosphere.
Trees aren't all that important compared to algae etc they are big and grow slowly so their metabolism is pretty low compared to pond scum.Newbie1 said:I see... would it be fair to say that there would be more oxygen available where there are trees around?. Or is it fairly distributed?.
Yes, but the OP is assuming that oxygen comes from trees.russ_watters said:I think the OP is asking about oxygen in the atmosphere, not dissolved in the ocean. Oxygen exists everywhere on Earth in similar concentrations because wind spreads it around.
mgb_phys said:Yes, but the OP is assuming that oxygen comes from trees.
The question should really be - why is there oxygen on land if there is no algae around!
Most of it comes from stuff growing on the surface of the ocean (not all technically algae)philip041 said:Does most oxygen come from algae then?
The majority of the Oxygen on Earth is in the form of sand.JorgeLobo said:The better question is - before evolution of photosynthesis, in what chemical form did much of the oxygen exist?
Oxygen is a chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a highly reactive gas that is essential for life on Earth.
Oxygen is produced through several processes, primarily photosynthesis by plants and algae, and through the breakdown of water molecules by sunlight in the upper atmosphere.
Oxygen is important for various biological processes, such as respiration and metabolism, in both plants and animals. It also plays a crucial role in the Earth's atmosphere, helping to regulate the planet's temperature and supporting the ozone layer.
Oxygen has been present in the Earth's atmosphere for billions of years. It is constantly being replenished through natural processes, such as photosynthesis and geological activities.
If there was no oxygen, life as we know it would not exist on Earth. Plants and animals would not be able to carry out essential biological processes, and the atmosphere would have a very different composition, potentially making the planet uninhabitable for humans.