These moderate temperatures allowed for the flourishing of plant life despite the lower output of solar radiation . An enhanced greenhouse effect , due to the greater concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere, supplemented the production of heat energy through higher levels of longwave counter-radiation. As the sun grew more intense, several biological mechanisms gradually locked some of the atmospheric carbon dioxide into fossil fuels and sedimentary rock . In summary, this regulating process has kept the Earth's global average temperature essentially constant over time. Some scientists suggest that this phenomena is proof for the Gaia hypothesis .
Carbon is stored in the lithosphere in both inorganic and organic forms.
Inorganic deposits of carbon in the lithosphere include fossil fuels like coal , oil , and natural gas , oil shale , and carbonate based sedimentary deposits like limestone . Organic forms of carbon in the lithosphere include litter , organic matter , and humic substances found in soils. Some carbon dioxide is released from the interior of the lithosphere by volcanoes . Carbon dioxide released by volcanoes enters the lower lithosphere when carbon-rich sediments and sedimentary rocks are subducted and partially melted beneath tectonic boundary zones. Since the Industrial Revolution , humans have greatly increased the quantity of carbon dioxide found in the Earth's atmosphere and oceans.