Planet Earth: Cosmology, Geology, and the Evolution of Life and Environment

by Cesare Emiliani

• ISBN13: 9780521409490
• ISBN10: 0521409497
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-08-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The next few decades are likely to witness deep environmental crises, crises we will be able to cope with only through a clear understanding of the complex, delicate system of which we are part. Fortunately, the great advances made in all fields of science since World War II make it possible to reconstruct the entire life history of the world we live in, from the Big Bang to the present, and thus to understand how the system works. This book presents a global picture of our world - how it originated, how it evolved, how it works - and provides the background necessary to assess ways to stabilize it. Although the science is rigorous and quantitative, the book is written in an informal style and is readily accessible to anyone with a knowledge of high-school algebra.

Table of Contents

Preface

Part I. Prolegomena: Science and Religion: 1. Monumental scientific discoveries, units of measurements, and a warning about this book

Part II. Matter and Energy: 2. Atoms and photons

3. The atomic nucleus

Part III. Cosmology

4. Birth of the universe

5. Measuring the universe

6. The objects in the sky

7. The solar system

8. Earth in space

Part IV. Geology: 9. Minerals and gems

10. Igneous rocks and volcanism

11. The Earth's interior

12. Plate tectonics

13. The atmosphere

14. The hydrosphere

15. Sediments and sedimentary rocks

16. Sedimentary environments

17. Diagenesis, metamorphism, and rock deformation

18. Stratigraphy

Part V. Evolution of Life and Environment: 19. Origin and early evolution of life

20. The cryptozoic: sections and taxa

21. Early phanerozoic phyla and related taxa

22. The paleozoic

23. The mesozoic

24. The cenozoic

Part VI. The Historical Perspectives: Part VII. Appendices: Part VIII. References and subject index.