During the first 3 billion years of climate change how much CO2 was removed from the atmosphere?

Question

Assuming all of the CO2 now bound to molecules of calcite, dolomite and other rock types was in the early atmosphere it is clear the early atmosphere was 99% CO2. During the first 3 billion years of atmospheric evolution almost all the CO2 was removed by chemical processes and locked up in rock formations. There were no life processes doing this work and the atmosphere still evolved. What was the total amount of CO2 that was removed during that process?

Answer 1

your not considering feedback mechanisms of the carbon cycle - the atmosphere was never 99% CO2 - the atmosphere is replenished - as co2 levels decrease dissolved carbon dioxide is pulled out of the oceans and when co2 levels are high more co2 is dissolved by the oceans - just one feedback mechanism out of many

in nature chemicals move from high concentration to low concentration spontaneously (without energy input)

Answer 2

Photosynthesising bacteria have been around for ~3.3 billion years and are the reason the atmosphere turned oxic over the period from 2.7 to 2.2 billion years ago (and hence for our vast iron deposits from this time among other things).

CO2 is removed not just by sedimentary carbonates, but by sedimentary organic carbon, and by minerals in sedimentary rocks which are derived from the weathering of igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Answer 3

The rock formations you are talking about that have fixed the CO2 from the air are all life based things.

All rock that is chalk [calcium carbonate] is formed from the shells and skeletons of small creatures.

This includes chalk alabaster limestone and marble.

More CO2 is taken form the air by plants and they keep the carbon and put oxygen back in the air.

The CO2 therefore has been removed form the air by Life not just by chemical means.

This is our present problem, we are burning fossil fuels and timber and the CO2 is going back into the air.

In answer to the comment below me , this is very much the reason for global warming.

I am even more surprised to see such a comment from a top contributor.

Answer 4

Is there perhaps a general science or geology section on Yahoo Answers?

Or perhaps you'd care to reference your source so we can see how this pertains to global warming?

Edit -

Unfortunately your clarification is no more clear.  The short answer is "most of it," but I fail to see how the first 3 billion years relates to that the changes observed over the last 250 million or so, to the climate in place as we evloved over the last 3 million years or so, to the climate in place as our societal systems developed (and were never tested like this) over the last 5000 years or so, or to how we might or might not be affecting climate due to anthropogenic release of carbon-based gasses.

It still looks more like paleogeology.