A non-technical (but serious) treatment of those parts of Earth history leading up to human history, as well as some pre-historical aspects of humanity. Many "events" in Earth's history necessarily preceded the emergence of human beings (and intelligence). Geology has provided us with a great deal of information about these various steps on the way to intelligent life, and how and why they were important. Some of these events were on a cosmic scale (no universe - no life!), some were planetological/astronomical (no Earth - no life), some were essentially chemical (how did life emerge in the primordial ocean and why do we have oxygen in the atmosphere?), and some were details of evolutionary history (how did life colonize the land and how did mammals develop?). In this book an enthusiastic professor of geosciences presents a broad introduction from the Big Bang to the present and into the future, lucidly explaining aspects from various disciplines to interested, non-specialist readers.
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- Produktdetails
- Verlag: Springer-Verlag GmbH
- Seitenzahl: 85
- Erscheinungstermin: 4. Dezember 2018
- Englisch
- ISBN-13: 9783319992174
- Artikelnr.: 54718032
Chapter 1. Introduction. Chapter 2. In the beginning...and somewhat later. Chapter 3. How to make a habitable planet. Chapter4. Prebiotic chemical synthesis. Chapter 5. The origin of life. Chapter 6. Interlude. Chapter 7. Photosynthesis - the game changer. Chapter 8. The rise of oxygen and the origin of the eukaryotic cell. Chapter 9. Earliest plants and animals. Chapter 10. The Cambrian explosion and emergence of "modern" body plans. Chapter 11. The end of the Ordovician and the colonization of the land. Chapter 12. The Permian extinction and the rise of the dinosaurs. Chapter 13. End of Cretaceous extinction - the end of the dinosaurs. Chapter 14. The rise of mammals, the Genus Homo, and the ongoing extinction event. Chapter 15. Conclusion.
"The book would be a wonderful resource for advanced undergraduates or for a graduate-level seminar, as each chapter focuses on a key question regarding life on Earth. ... The index is brief; the few images are useful additions to the text. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty and professionals." (L. T. Spencer, Choice, Vol. 56 (11), July, 2019)