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Originally Posted by Fred Brackin
Does this calculation take into account the decay of newly dead plant [and animal] matter?
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Total atmospheric oxygen: 1.4x10^15 tons. Total carbon in biomass (living and dead): 2.0x10^12 tons. Even if all of the carbon in biomass were fully oxidized, it would result in a 0.3% drop in atmospheric oxygen. Then there's the question of how decay will proceed in the presence of sterilizing UVB.
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Then there's rusting and other inorganic oxidation processes.
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About 6x10^8 tons per year: significant on a geological time scale (~23,000 years for a 1% drop), but not in the 35 years so far in this scenario.