How has the Earth's atmosphere changed over time, and why?The Earth's early atmosphere

The Earth, its oceans and atmosphere are made of elements and compounds in different states. The particle model may be used to explain the different properties of the solid, liquid and gas states.

Part ofCombined ScienceAir and water

The Earth's early atmosphere

Watch this video to discover which gases were present in the Earth's early atmosphere.

Alisha Kakar explains which gases scientists think might have been present in the Earth’s early atmosphere

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The Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists believe that its early was produced by volcanic activity.

Volcano
A volcano in Iceland

Composition of the early atmosphere

The early atmosphere probably contained:

  • a large amount of carbon dioxide
  • water vapour
  • small amounts of other gases

As the Earth began to cool, water vapour formed the oceans. This process can be explained by the .

Formation of the modern atmosphere

Over time:

  • the oxygen levels increased
  • the carbon dioxide levels decreased
Air is composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% other gases, including 0.9% argon and 0.04% carbon dioxide.
The composition of the modern atmosphere
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