Oxygen cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Oxygen cycle - Essay Example Human processes like power generation, industrial processes and combustion engine all require heavy amount of oxygen. In fact, besides the demand of living organisms, vehicles require and power generation units have the second highest demand and consumption of oxygen. Photosynthesis, a process through which plants produce their own food with the help of sun light, is the process that replenishes oxygen in the atmosphere. Photosynthesis is the only natural process that produces oxygen to cover its shortage due to respiration and human energy needs. Large forests constantly produce oxygen and maintain its balance in the environment. Photosynthesis not only occurs on land but also in the seas and oceans, where marine plants produce oxygen not only for the marine life but also of the land creatures (Cloud and Gibor, 1970). Estimates by walker (1980) suggest that annual gain in oxygen, as the result of photosynthesis, is about 30,000 X 1010 Kg. In which, 16,500 X 1010 Kg is the gain in oxygen due to land photosynthesis, while; 13,500 X 1010 Kg gain in oxygen due to oceanic photosynthesis. Other processes like photolysis of nitrogen dioxide and water also contribute in producing oxygen. However, the contribution of both the photolysis processes is very little as compared to that of the photosynthesis (Walker,