Asked by caleb
is there more oxegen or carbon in the florida keys
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Short answer: there is far more oxygen than carbon in the Florida Keys.
Why: the Keys are mostly ocean + air + limestone/biomass. The biggest single reservoir is seawater, and each water molecule (H2O) contains one oxygen atom and makes up ~96–97% of seawater by mass. That means hundreds of grams of oxygen per kilogram of seawater, whereas dissolved and particulate carbon in seawater (dissolved inorganic carbon + organic carbon) is on the order of hundredths to a few grams per kilogram at most. In the atmosphere O2 is ~21% by volume while carbon in the form of CO2 is only ~0.04% by volume. Even counting carbon stored in coral rock and plants, total oxygen atoms/mass are orders of magnitude greater than carbon.
If you meant a specific pool (air only, dissolved gases, biomass, or rock), tell me which and I can give more precise numbers.
Why: the Keys are mostly ocean + air + limestone/biomass. The biggest single reservoir is seawater, and each water molecule (H2O) contains one oxygen atom and makes up ~96–97% of seawater by mass. That means hundreds of grams of oxygen per kilogram of seawater, whereas dissolved and particulate carbon in seawater (dissolved inorganic carbon + organic carbon) is on the order of hundredths to a few grams per kilogram at most. In the atmosphere O2 is ~21% by volume while carbon in the form of CO2 is only ~0.04% by volume. Even counting carbon stored in coral rock and plants, total oxygen atoms/mass are orders of magnitude greater than carbon.
If you meant a specific pool (air only, dissolved gases, biomass, or rock), tell me which and I can give more precise numbers.
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