Screen LibraryThe Earth as a cradle for life : the origin, evolution and future of the environment /
The Earth as a Cradle for Life aims to fill the gap between readers who have a strong and informed scientific interest in the environment (but no access to the journal literature), and their desire for a basic understanding of the environment. It provides a comprehensive account, and requires no adv...
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| Published: |
World Scientific Pub. Co.,
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| Publisher Address: | Singapore ; Hackensack, N.J. : |
| Publication Dates: | 2013. |
| Literature type: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: |
http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/8807#t=toc |
| Summary: |
The Earth as a Cradle for Life aims to fill the gap between readers who have a strong and informed scientific interest in the environment (but no access to the journal literature), and their desire for a basic understanding of the environment. It provides a comprehensive account, and requires no advanced mathematical skills. It will also satisfy a need for a textbook on fundamental science for students in tertiary environmental science courses that may otherwise neglect the underlying basis of their subject. The Earth as a Cradle takes a step back from common perceptions of the environment, and presents a new fundamental perspective. It draws attention to observations that have been neglected or discounted for reasons the authors found invalid, and which allow a more coherent account of the environment than is possible without them. Misunderstandings about the environment are common, even in the scientific community. They arise in part from the multi-disciplinary nature of the subject and the difficulty in keeping all relevant observations in mind and assessing their validity. These misunderstandings are often consequences of the band-wagon effect: when an idea is reinforced by repeated quotation and becomes difficult to contradict even when it is in obvious conflict with observations. This is especially so in a subject with strong media interest and conflicting commercial interests - and Cradle sweeps these considerations aside and presents a new environmental scenario. This book draws on several decades of research by the authors on fundamental Earth science, and presents probing insights on environmental questions that are not widely recognized - even in the professional community. For this reason it will become a landmark in the environmental science and Earth science literature. |
| Item Description: | Includes indexes. |
| Carrier Form: | 1 online resource (xvii,285pages) : illustrations, map, ports |
| ISBN: | 9789814508346 (electronic bk.) |
| Index Number: | QE26 |
| CLC: | P5 |
| Contents: |
Physical and astronomical foundations. 1. "The age of the Earth as an abode fitted for life" (Lord Kelvin, 1899). Age estimates without radioactivity: history of a paradox. The paradox resolved but with continued difficulties. Dating by radioactivity. Ages of the solar system and the heavy elements in it. Early development of the basic structure of the Earth. Beginnings of life on Earth -- 2. Rotation, tides and the Moon. Uniqueness of the Moon - why are there so few satellites in the inner solar system? Tides and tidal friction. Rotation of the Earth and evolution of the Moon's orbit. Venus and Mercury could not now have satellites, even if they once did so. The 'lunar cataclysm', 3.8 billion years ago. The Earth had a second satellite for 600 million years. Impacts on Mercury. An implication of the solar tide. Formation of the Earth and Moon required no special physical processes -- 3. The variable Sun and other astronomical effects. The effects on global temperature of short-term variations in sunlight. Orbital effects. Solar variability, sunspots and the little ice age. The faint early sun paradox. The size of the Sun is critical -- 4. The magnetic field. Magnetic fields of planets. Magnetic rocks. Planetary dynamos. The energy source for the Earth's dynamo. The Earth's field varies but it is robust. The magnetosphere: extension of the Earth's field into space. The ionosphere and the ozone layer. The heliosphere. Effects of heliospheric compression -- The evolving Earth. 5. Internal heat and the evolution of the Earth. Two independent heat sources maintain the environment. The role of radioactivity. Tectonic processes depend on sea water. The mutual control of convection and temperature. Effects of core heat and convective plumes in the mantle. Tectonic effects will continue indefinitely with little change. The continent-ocean structure. Planetary evolution involved chemical separation. The primitive atmosphere. The role of biological life. 6. The oceans. We cannot understand the environment without understanding the oceans. Continents and oceans have different deep structures. Tides and tidal dissipation. Tidal resonances. Development of the Atlantic Ocean as a consequence of plate tectonics. Other tidal effects. The origin of ocean salt: evidence from the Caspian Sea. Why are the oceans not salt saturated? The special case of dissolved calcium. A hydrothermal source of salt. Recycling of ocean salt. The role of salt in ocean circulation and control of the heat budget. Salinity of the blood of vertebrates -- 7. Planetary atmospheres and the appearance of free oxygen. Atmospheres give clues to planetary evolution. Dense carbon dioxide has come and gone. Oxygen from the loss of hydrogen to space. The isotopic evidence of hydrogen loss. Isotopes in water from deep in the Earth. Hydrogen loss from methane. Hydrogen loss from other planets. Noctilucent clouds. Does hydrogen loss produce molecular oxygen (symbol) directly? Oxygen loss. The history of oxygen development: the record of the banded ironstones. Control of the oxygen abundance. Ozone. Atmospheric argon -- 8. Thermal balance, the greenhouse effect and sea level. Surface temperature is controlled by radiation. Radiation is not all the same. Principle of the greenhouse effect. Is the high temperature of Venus correctly described as a greenhouse effect? Greenhouse warming is controlled by water vapour. A negative greenhouse effect in the stratosphere. The approach to quantitative calculations of the greenhouse effect. Clouds moderate the greenhouse effect. Ocean warming and sea level rise. Ocean warming is a transient effect. Interpreting ice cap contraction -- 9. Environmental crises and mass extinctions of species. Discontinuities in the fossil record. The asteroidal impact hypothesis. The volcanic interpretation. Origin and effects of flood basalts. Sulphur dioxide as the cause of volcanic cooling. Flood basalts will occur again. The punctuation of evolution by environmental crises. 10. Stability of the environment. Identifying feedback mechanisms that control the environment. Glacial cycles and temperature stability. Compensation for the faint early Sun. Stability of the Earth's orbit. Internal heat is of no consequence to the surface temperature. The faint early Sun paradox is more serious for Mars. Plausibility of a strong early greenhouse effect. The ice core record: evidence of a natural CO[symbol] balance. Stability of the atmospheric oxygen concentration. A return to the question of cloudiness -- 11. Inorganic mineral deposits as products of an evolving environment. Development of the continental crust is the first stage. What is an inorganic mineral deposit? Hydrothermal activity. Placer deposits. Laterite deposits. Multistage mineral development requires diverse environmental conditions -- 12. Fossil fuels, buried carbon and photosynthetic oxygen. A comment on the carbon cycle. How much organic carbon remains sequestered? Photosynthesis releases oxygen from water as well as carbon dioxide. Coal. Oil. Variations of coal and oil development with time and latitude. Natural gas and coal seam gas. Methane clathrate. Early photosynthesis: blue-green algae. The total buried organic carbon. The carbon dioxide/nitrogen ratio: a comparison with Venus and Mars. The fraction of atmospheric oxygen derived from photosynthesis -- Human influences. 13. Effects of fossil fuel use. The current rapid rise in atmospheric CO[symbol]. Solution in the oceans. Ice core records of ice age CO[symbol]. Ice age CO[symbol] interpretation. The oceans delay the effects of greenhouse changes. Only complete cessation of emission can solve the CO[symbol] problem. A thought about health effects -- 14. A comparison of human energy use with natural dissipations. Almost all available energy is ultimately derived from the Sun. The magnitude of the energy problem. Geothermal energy. Solar energy. Wind power. Tides. River flow. Waves. A comment on the use of hydrogen. Solar and wind energies are the only serious options -- 15. The cradle is rocking. The Earth can sustain life for many millions of years. Fossil fuel burning is irreversibly changing the environment. The Earth is responding slowly to the rapidly changing human influence. Modelling atmospheric changes. Sea level rise will accelerate. We are on a one way road -- 16. A summary of salient conclusions. |