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Based on median estimates, an annual average of 5.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) was added to the earth's atmosphere in each year of the 2010s. A total of 11 gigatons of CO₂ was added via the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use (such as deforestation for agriculture), while 5.9 gigatons was absorbed by the land and ocean. This process is known as the carbon cycle, and has regulated the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide in our atmosphere for billions of years. However, human activity in recent centuries has seen the balance between CO₂ emissions and CO₂ uptake shift dramatically, causing a higher excess of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which prevents heat from escaping and leads to a quicker rise in ocean and surface temperatures.