Earth : evolution of a habitable world /
Jonathan I. Lunine.
- 2nd ed.
- 1 online resource (viii, 318 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).
Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 18 Jul 2016).
An introductory tour of Earth's cosmic neighborhood -- Largest and smallest scales -- Forces and energy -- Fusion, fission, sunlight, and element formation -- Determination of cosmic and terestrial ages -- Other uses of isotopes for Earth history -- Relative age dating of cosmic and terrestrial evens: the cratering record -- Relative age dating of terrestrial events: geologic layering and geologic time -- Plate tectonics: an introduction ot the process -- Formation of the solar system -- The Hadean Earth -- The Archean eon and the origin of life I: Properties of and sites for life -- The Archean eon and the irigin of life II: Mechanisms -- The first greenhouse crisis: the faint young sun -- Climate histories of Mars and Venus, and the habitability of planets -- Earth in transition: from the Archean to the Protozoic -- The oxygen revolution -- The Phanerozoic: flowering and extinction of complex life -- Climate change across the Phanerozoic -- Toward the age of humankind -- Climate change over the past few hundred thousand years -- Human-induced global warming -- Limitied resources: the human dilemma -- Coda: the once and future Earth.
Fully updated throughout, including revised illustrations and new images from NASA missions, this new edition provides an overview of Earth's history from a planetary science perspective for Earth science undergraduates. Earth's evolution is described in the context of what we know about other planets and the cosmos at large, from the origin of the cosmos to the processes that shape planetary environments and from the origins of life to the inner workings of cells. Astronomy, Earth science, planetary science and astrobiology are integrated to give students the whole picture of how the Earth has come to its present state and an understanding of the relationship between key ideas in different fields. The book presents concepts in nontechnical language and mathematical treatments are avoided where possible. New end-of-chapter summaries and questions allow students to check their understanding and critical thinking is emphasized to encourage students to explore ideas scientifically for themselves.