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

This book explains why we have such a vast array of environments across the cosmos and on our own planet, and also a stunning diversity of plant and animal life on earth.

Cesare Emiliani (Author)

9780521409490, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 August 1992

736 pages, 450 b/w illus. 128 tables
25.4 x 18 x 3.4 cm, 1.257 kg

'Planet Earth is a book that can be read from start to finish and it is also a book that can be dipped into almost anywhere. There is much here to educate and also to entertain.' Mercian Geologist

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.

Preface
Part I. Prolegomena: Science and Religion: 1. Monumental scientific discoveries, units of measurement 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 Perspective
Part VII. Appendixes: A. Physical and chemical data
B. Chemical formulary
Part VIII. References and Subject Index.

Subject Areas: Earth sciences [RB]