Oxygen Cycle - Reservoirs

Reservoirs

By far the largest reservoir of Earth's oxygen is within the silicate and oxide minerals of the crust and mantle (99.5%). Only a small portion has been released as free oxygen to the biosphere (0.01%) and atmosphere (0.36%). The main source of atmospheric free oxygen is photosynthesis, which produces sugars and free oxygen from carbon dioxide and water:-

6CO₂ + 6H₂O + energy → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

Photosynthesizing organisms include the plant life of the land areas as well as the phytoplankton of the oceans. The tiny marine cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus was discovered in 1986 and accounts for more than half of the photosynthesis of the open ocean.

An additional source of atmospheric free oxygen comes from photolysis, whereby high energy ultraviolet radiation breaks down atmospheric water and nitrous oxide into component atoms. The free H and N atoms escape into space leaving O₂ in the atmosphere:

2H₂O + energy → 4H + O₂

2N₂O + energy → 4N + O₂

The main way free oxygen is lost from the atmosphere is via respiration and decay, mechanisms in which animal life and bacteria consume oxygen and release carbon dioxide.

The lithosphere also consumes free oxygen via chemical weathering and surface reactions. An example of surface weathering chemistry is formation of iron-oxides (rust):

4FeO + O₂ → 2Fe₂O₃

Oxygen is also cycled between the biosphere and lithosphere. Marine organisms in the biosphere create calcium carbonate shell material (CaCO₃) that is rich in oxygen. When the organism dies its shell is deposited on the shallow sea floor and buried over time to create the limestone sedimentary rock of the lithosphere. Weathering processes initiated by organisms can also free oxygen from the lithosphere. Plants and animals extract nutrient minerals from rocks and release oxygen in the process.