Carbon is the basic building block for almost all complex organic molecules on Earth.
Recently, I read that almost all the carbon in all those organic molecules originally came from Earth’s atmosphere.
Can anyone here confirm that?
Another interesting factoid I recently acquired - Our current atmosphere contains about 400 parts-per-million of CO2.
If CO2 ever drops to 150 parts-per-million, almost every plant on Earth would die, which means almost every human being would die, too.
The earth (and all planets in our system it seems) are created from hydrocarbons. Originally, there was no atmosphere. Hydrogen moving towards the surface through the mantle may have combined with oxygen molecules to create water. Which is why aquifers are found throughout the world, even under deserts. Even methane, which is CH4, is created in the mantle. Methane has been found on many planets and their moons. Natural Gas is 95.2% methane. Coal is the solid form and petroleum the liquid form.
A great book on the origins of the atmosphere and life on Earth is Dr Thomas Gold’s “Deep Hot Biosphere.” It also suggests the abiotic origins of oil. As far as I know, it’s the only complete theory on the Geological formation of the Earth. Excellent book.
You can learn a lot just reading the comments on Amazon: