Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere initial carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the young Earth was produced by volcanic activity, modern volcanic activity releases only 130 to 230 megatonnes of carbon dioxide each year. These natural sources are nearly balanced by natural sinks, physical and biological processes which remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. For example, some is directly removed from the atmosphere by land plants for photosynthesis and it is soluble in water forming carbonic acid. There is a large natural flux of into and out of the biosphere and oceans. In the pre-industrial era these fluxes were largely in balance. Currently about 57%
Ocean storage of carbon dioxide IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme estimates that dilute carbon dioxide injection would cost $70 per tonne of carbon dioxide including costs of carbon capture, transport, and storage before boat dispersal. Carbon dioxide ocean storage can occur through solid or solid hydrate of carbon dioxide. The solid state density of carbon dioxide is approximately 1.5 times greater than seawater and thus tends to sink to the ocean floor. The dissolving rate at the surface is about 0.2 cm/hr such that a small quantity of carbon dioxide can be completely dissolved before reaching the sea floor. In addition to solid carbon dioxide