If all fossil fuels come from dead plants and animals of the past, was all the carbon trapped in them present in the atmosphere as CO2 at some point? If we dug out all the fossil fuels in the world and burned them all today, would the atmosphere be comparable to what it was like before life?

Question

If all fossil fuels come from dead plants and animals of the past, was all the carbon trapped in them present in the atmosphere as CO2 at some point? If we dug out all the fossil fuels in the world and burned them all today, would the atmosphere be comparable to what it was like before life?

In: 64

Answer 1

Atmosphere was also much richer in oxygen at that time, so it would be different anyway. Also, not all carbon is bound in fossil fuels, sedimentary rocks like limestone also have carbon in their structure.