Earth System Evolution and Early Life

Earth System Evolution and Early Life
Author: A.T. Brasier
Publisher: Geological Society of London
Total Pages: 429
Release: 2017-06-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1786202794

This volume in memory of Professor Martin Brasier, which has many of his unfinished works, summarizes recent progress in some of the hottest topics in palaeobiology including cellular preservation of early microbial life and early evolution of macroscopic animal life, encompassing the Ediacara biota. The papers focus on how to decipher evidence for early life, which requires exceptional preservation, employment of state-of-the-art techniques and also an understanding gleaned from Phanerozoic lagerstätte and modern analogues. The papers also apply Martin’s MOFAOTYOF principle (my oldest fossils are older than your oldest fossils), requiring an integrated approach to understanding fossils. The adoption of the null-hypothesis that all putative traces of life are abiotic until proven otherwise, and the consideration of putative fossils within their spatial context, characterized the work of Martin Brasier, as is well demonstrated by the papers in this volume.

Life on a Young Planet

Life on a Young Planet
Author: Andrew H. Knoll
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2003
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780691120294

Knoll explores the deep history of life from its origins on a young planet to the incredible Cambrian explosion, with the very latest discoveries in paleontology integrated with emerging insights from molecular biology and earth system science. 100 illustrations.

Earth, Our Living Planet

Earth, Our Living Planet
Author: Philippe Bertrand
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 573
Release: 2021-04-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030677737

Earth is, to our knowledge, the only life-bearing body in the Solar System. This extraordinary characteristic dates back almost 4 billion years. How to explain that Earth is teeming with organisms and that this has lasted for so long? What makes Earth different from its sister planets Mars and Venus? The habitability of a planet is its capacity to allow the emergence of organisms. What astronomical and geological conditions concurred to make Earth habitable 4 billion years ago, and how has it remained habitable since? What have been the respective roles of non-biological and biological characteristics in maintaining the habitability of Earth? This unique book answers the above questions by considering the roles of organisms and ecosystems in the Earth System, which is made of the non-living and living components of the planet. Organisms have progressively occupied all the habitats of the planet, diversifying into countless life forms and developing enormous biomasses over the past 3.6 billion years. In this way, organisms and ecosystems "took over" the Earth System, and thus became major agents in its regulation and global evolution. There was co-evolution of the different components of the Earth System, leading to a number of feedback mechanisms that regulated long-term Earth conditions. For millennia, and especially since the Industrial Revolution nearly 300 years ago, humans have gradually transformed the Earth System. Technological developments combined with the large increase in human population have led, in recent decades, to major changes in the Earth's climate, soils, biodiversity and quality of air and water. After some successes in the 20th century at preventing internationally environmental disasters, human societies are now facing major challenges arising from climate change. Some of these challenges are short-term and others concern the thousand-year evolution of the Earth's climate. Humans should become the stewards of Earth.

Early Life

Early Life
Author: Lynn Margulis
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2002
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780763714635

Early life attempts to tell the stories of primitive life. The text conveys some of the excitement in the current attempts to reconstruct the opening chapters of life on the planet Earth, long before the appearance of the simplest animal or plant.

Earth System Science Overview

Earth System Science Overview
Author: NASA Advisory Council. Earth System Sciences Committee
Publisher: National Academies
Total Pages: 52
Release: 1986
Genre: Astronautics in earth sciences
ISBN:

Earth's Evolving Systems

Earth's Evolving Systems
Author: Ronald Martin
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Publishers
Total Pages: 718
Release: 2013
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0763780014

Earth's Evolving Systems: The History Of Planet Earth Is Intended As An Introductory Text That Examines The Evolution Of The Earth And Its Life From A Systems Point Of View. The Text Covers Major Topics Like The Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, And Biosphere, And Discusses How These Systems Interacted With Each Other And Evolved Through Geologic Time. The Author Takes Care To Integrate The Current State Of Our Earth Systems With Those Of The Past In An Effort To Develop Students' Interests In Earth System In General. It Begins With By Examining The Basics Of Earth Systems, Including Discussions Of Sedimentation, Evolution, Stratigraphy, And Plate Tectonics. Part Two Looks At The Beginning Of Time With The Origin Of The Earth And Discusses Its Early Evolution, Through The Origin Of Life And Its Evolution To Multiculluraity. The Third Section Goes On To Cover The Paleozoic Through The Neogene Eras, Discussing Topics Such As Tectonics, Mountain Building, Sea Level, Climate, Life, And Mass Extinctions In Each Era. The Final Part Moves On To The Modern World, Discussing The Interactions Between Humans And Earth Systems, With An Emphasis On The Climatic System. Key Features Of Earth's Evolving System: - Presents The Earth As A Continuously Evolving And Dynamic Planet Whose History Consists Of A Succession Of Vastly Different Worlds Very Much Unlike Our Modern Earth. - Discusses The Scientific Method In Chapter 1, Emphasizing How Historical Geology Differs From The Standard "Scientific Method" Presented As The Paradigm Of Experimental Sciences And Of All Science. - Bridges Traditional Historical Geology Texts By Discussing Historical Information In The Context Of The Interaction And Integration Of Earth Systems Through Geologic Time By Using The Tectonic (Wilson) Cycle As A Unifying Theme. - Concentrates On North America But Offers A Global Perspective On Earth Systems On Processes Such As Orogenesis, Seaways, And Ocean Circulation, The Evolution Of Life, And Mass Extinction. - Discusses Rapid Climate Change And Anthropogenic Impacts In The Context Of A Continuously Evolving Earth Whose Environments Are Now Being Altered By Anthropogenic Climate Change. - End-Of-Chapter Materials Include: General Review Questions, More Challenging "Food For Thought" Questions, Key Terms Listing, And A "Sources And Further Readings" Section. - Boxes Throughout The Text Highlight Interesting Bits Of Related Information, Unusual Occurrences, Or Elaborates On Material Presented In The Text

Earth System History

Earth System History
Author: Steven M. Stanley
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 604
Release: 2005
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780716739074

Designed for a new generation of readers, Stanley's Earth System History is a reforging of his Exploring Earth and Life Through Time. Adopting an earth system approach throughout, Earth System History shows students how Earth's ecosystem has developed over time and how events in the past provide a perspective for dealing with present and future changes. Clear and concise, the new Second Edition of this introduction to historical geology is perfect for one-term non-majors courses and contains lots of new content and improved visuals.

Earth System: History and Natural Variability - Volume II

Earth System: History and Natural Variability - Volume II
Author: Vaclav Cilek
Publisher: EOLSS Publications
Total Pages: 426
Release: 2009-07-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1848261055

Earth System: History and Natural Variability theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Natural Resources Policy and Management, in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Earth System: History and Natural Variability with contributions from distinguished experts in the field, presents a description of the cosmic environment around our planet influencing the Earth in a number of ways through variation of solar energy or meteorite impacts. The structure of the Earth and its rocks, waters and atmosphere is described. The Theme focuses on geological and evolutionary processes through the history of Earth's epochs and biomes since the Early Earth to the Quaternary. The unifying processes between the Earth's life and its rocks, waters and atmosphere are global natural cycles of carbon, sulfur and other elements that connect and influence the rate of geological processes, climate change, biological evolution and human economy. These five volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.

Early Life

Early Life
Author: Lynn Margulis
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1984
Genre: Life
ISBN:

Life on a Young Planet

Life on a Young Planet
Author: Andrew H. Knoll
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2015-03-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1400866049

Australopithecines, dinosaurs, trilobites--such fossils conjure up images of lost worlds filled with vanished organisms. But in the full history of life, ancient animals, even the trilobites, form only the half-billion-year tip of a nearly four-billion-year iceberg. Andrew Knoll explores the deep history of life from its origins on a young planet to the incredible Cambrian explosion, presenting a compelling new explanation for the emergence of biological novelty. The very latest discoveries in paleontology--many of them made by the author and his students--are integrated with emerging insights from molecular biology and earth system science to forge a broad understanding of how the biological diversity that surrounds us came to be. Moving from Siberia to Namibia to the Bahamas, Knoll shows how life and environment have evolved together through Earth's history. Innovations in biology have helped shape our air and oceans, and, just as surely, environmental change has influenced the course of evolution, repeatedly closing off opportunities for some species while opening avenues for others. Readers go into the field to confront fossils, enter the lab to discern the inner workings of cells, and alight on Mars to ask how our terrestrial experience can guide exploration for life beyond our planet. Along the way, Knoll brings us up-to-date on some of science's hottest questions, from the oldest fossils and claims of life beyond the Earth to the hypothesis of global glaciation and Knoll's own unifying concept of ''permissive ecology.'' In laying bare Earth's deepest biological roots, Life on a Young Planet helps us understand our own place in the universe--and our responsibility as stewards of a world four billion years in the making. In a new preface, Knoll describes how the field has broadened and deepened in the decade since the book's original publication.