For many millions of years the atmosphere has had close to its present composition, maintained by the balance between processes by which the principal gases are added to air and processes by which they are removed. This balance is not always perfect. One example is argon: this inert gas has...
According to data from rocket measurements, gravitational separation of the inert gases argon and nitrogen is observed above 105–110 km. The principal components of the atmosphere in the layer between 100 and 210 km are molecular nitrogen, molecular oxygen, and atomic oxygen. (The concentration of...
According to data from rocket measurements, gravitational separation of the inert gases argon and nitrogen is observed above 105–110 km. The principal components of the atmosphere in the layer between 100 and 210 km are molecular nitrogen, molecular oxygen, and atomic oxygen. (The concentration ...
On Earth, the formation of carbonate shells by marine life is the principal mechanism for transforming carbon dioxide to carbonates; abiotic processes involving liquid water also produce carbonates, albeit more slowly. On Venus, however, life never had the chance to arise and to generate carbonates...