Its concentration in Earth's pre-industrial atmosphere since late in the Precambrian was regulated by organisms and geological phenomena. Burning fossil fuels is the primary cause of these increased CO 2 concentrations and also the primary cause of climate change.

It is a trace gas in Earth's atmosphere at 421 parts per million (ppm), or about 0.04% by volume (as of May 2022), having risen from pre-industrial levels of 280 ppm. When carbon dioxide dissolves in water, it forms carbonate and mainly bicarbonate ( HCO −ģ), which causes ocean acidification as atmospheric CO 2 levels increase. Carbon dioxide is soluble in water and is found in groundwater, lakes, ice caps, and seawater.

In the air, carbon dioxide is transparent to visible light but absorbs infrared radiation, acting as a greenhouse gas. It is found in the gas state at room temperature, and as the source of available carbon in the carbon cycle, atmospheric CO 2 is the primary carbon source for life on Earth. Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula CO 2) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms.

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