So while a mature forest is in chemical equilibrium with the atmosphere, coral reefs form permanent limestone structures that keep on taking carbon out of the air forever. (newscientist.com)
It took millions of years for the seas to soak up this oxygen, but eventually they came into equilibrium with the atmosphere. (newscientist.com)
And if the ocean takes a long time to come to chemical equilibrium with the atmosphere the acidity would be less than if it were in equilibrium. (realclimate.org)