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Given off by animals as a waste product.

Used by plants to maintain life. nova net

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is considered a trace gas in the atmosphere because it is much less abundant than oxygen or nitrogen. However, this trace gas plays a vital role in sustaining life on Earth and in controlling the Earth's climate by trapping heat in the atmosphere.

The oceans play an important role in regulating the amount of CO2in the atmosphere because CO2 can move quickly into and out of the oceans. Once in the oceans, the CO2 no longer traps heat. CO2 also moves quickly between the atmosphere and the land biosphere (material that is or was living on land).

Of the three places where carbon is stored-atmosphere, oceans, and land biosphere-approximately 93 percent of the CO2 is found in the oceans. The atmosphere, at about 750 petagrams of carbon (a petagram [Pg] is 1*10^15 grams), has the smallest amount of carbon.

Approximately 90 to 100 Pg of carbon moves back and forth between the atmosphere and the oceans, and between the atmosphere and the land biosphere. Although these exchange rates are large relative to the total amount of carbon stored in the atmosphere, the concentration of CO2 was constant at 280 parts per million (ppm) by volume for at least 1,000 years prior to the industrial era. Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 were constant because the carbon being removed from the atmosphere in some places exactly matched the CO2 being added to the atmosphere in other places.

Marine plants and animals play a role in the uptake and release of carbon dioxide in the ocean. Plants, primarily phytoplankton but also macrophytes such as this seaweed, take up carbon dioxide and release oxygen, which oxygen-dependent animals need to survive.

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14y ago
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10y ago

Carbon dioxide is turning the oceans more acidic. This is causing coral bleaching, killing the coral and damaging the exoskeletons of shellfish. Krill, at the bottom of the marine food chain is threatened, and this will affect many larger sea creatures.

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Carbon dioxide in water usually forms dilute carbonic acid (H2CO3). CO2 + H2O ===> H2CO3

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Q: Carbon dioxide in ocean water is?
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Related questions

Where do plants in the ocean get carbon?

Carbon Dioxide dissolves in ocean water. Plants in the ocean use the carbon dioxide dissolved in the ocean water.


Which item is not available in the deep ocean carbon dioxide water nutrients or sunlight?

what item is not available in the deep ocean carbon dioxide,water,nutrients,or sunlight


Is the growth of algae in ocean water limited by their need for carbon dioxide and sunlight?

Yes. The growth of algae in ocean water is limited by their need for carbon dioxide and sunlight.


Why is carbon dioxide able to be stored more effectively in ocean water than in fresh water?

Carbon dioxide is able to be stored more effectively in ocean water than in fresh water because the salt accumulates in ocean water.


What is the source of carbon dioxide for water plants?

Carbon dioxide in the oceans primarily comes from the atmosphere. Some of the carbon dioxide from the air dissolves into the ocean water. However, smaller amounts can come from respiration of sea animals and other miscellaneous sources. The atmosphere is by far the largest source of carbon dioxide in ocean water, though.


How do dissolved gases get in ocean water?

The main dissolved gases found in the ocean include, but are not limited to: carbon dioxide, oxygen, and hydrogen. Dissolved gases, especially oxygen, are important, since it provides dissolved oxygen for aquatic organisms to "breathe" in. Also, the carbon dioxide dissolved in the ocean helps lessen the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment.


What gas is in water?

Gases in fresh and ocean water include oxygen and carbon dioxide.


How much carbon dioxide is produced by the ocean?

The oceans are regarded as carbon dioxide sinks, not sources. This means they remove carbon dioxide, not produce it. Carbon dioxide dissolves from the air into ocean water. Once there it is removed by plankton and algae, by corals and mollusks in making shells, and by chemical action.


The growth of algae in ocean water is limited by their need for?

carbon dioxide and sunlight.


The two major dissolved gases in ocean water are?

The two principal gases that are dissolved in ocean water are oxygen and carbon dioxide. These gases are vital for marine life.


How does carbon get into the ocean?

when you breathe underwater, those little bubbles are filled with carbon dioxide


Is ocean water a solution or a suspension?

Water is a chemical compound.