How does Co2 balance in the atmosphere, considering the oceans?
My favorite theory on the cause of the recent ice age is that it results from two tectonic events : uplift of the Himalayas and closure of the strait between the atlantic and pacific oceans with the formation fo the isthmus of Panama. The first altered global wind patterns significantly, and the second altered the heat exchange processes of the oceans. If one considers the partition of CO2 between the atmosphere and oceans, you find that most of the mass is found in the oceans. Really, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is controlled by the amount of CO2 in the oceans. However, the balancing process is slow. We have exceeded the balancing (buffering) capacity of the atmosphere-ocean system by adding CO2 to the atmosphere faster than the oceans can take it up. This is a short-term unbalance. Eventually, the system will catch up by removing the added CO2 from the atmosphere (it would not normally be expected to return to the previous balancing point, though, it will just establish a new
