The Role of Impact Processes in the Geological and Biological Evolution of Planet Earth


Book Description

Mednarodna delavnica je obravnavala geološke in biološke posledice katastrofalnih trkov z meteoriti v zgodovini Zemlje od paleozoika do danes. Posebna pozornost je bila posvečena dogodkom na kredno-terciarni meji. Zbornik je razdeljen na tri dele. V prvem delu je 52 povzetkov predavanj in prostorov. Drugi del prinaša pet preglednih člankov o geološki zgradbi zahodne Slovenije in Tržaškega Krasa ter seznam geoloških publikacij in geoloških kart Slovenije, Hrvaške in italijanskega Krasa. Tretji del je vodnik po ekskurzijah. Opisanih je šest profilov, na katerih so odkrite zgornjekredne in najstarejše terciarne plasti.







Origin and Evolution of Earth


Book Description

Questions about the origin and nature of Earth and the life on it have long preoccupied human thought and the scientific endeavor. Deciphering the planet's history and processes could improve the ability to predict catastrophes like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, to manage Earth's resources, and to anticipate changes in climate and geologic processes. At the request of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, and U.S. Geological Survey, the National Research Council assembled a committee to propose and explore grand questions in geological and planetary science. This book captures, in a series of questions, the essential scientific challenges that constitute the frontier of Earth science at the start of the 21st century.




Geological and Biological Effects of Impact Events


Book Description

This book is the first volume of a new interdisciplinary series on "Impact Studies". The volumes of this series aim to include all aspects of research related to impact cratering - geology, geophysics, paleontology, geochemistry, mineralogy, petrology, planetolgy, etc. Future volumes will include monographs, field guides, conference proceedings, etc. All contributions in this book were peer-reviewed to ensure high scientific quality. The thirteen papers in the present volume result from a workshop of the European Science Foundation (ESF) IMPACT programme ("Response of the Earth System to Impact Processes"). This programme is an interdisciplinary effort aimed at understanding impact processes and their effects on the Earth System, including environmental, biological, and geological changes, and consequences for the biodiversity of ecosystems. The goals of the programme, and details about our activities, can be found on the web at . The IMPACT programme has currently 15 member nations from allover Europe. The activities of the programme range from workshops to specific topics regarding impact cratering, short courses on impact stratigraphy, shock metamorphism, etc. , mobility grants for students and young researchers, development of teaching aids, and publications. The third IMPACT workshop was held in Quillan, in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, in September 1999.




Landscapes on the Edge


Book Description

During geologic spans of time, Earth's shifting tectonic plates, atmosphere, freezing water, thawing ice, flowing rivers, and evolving life have shaped Earth's surface features. The resulting hills, mountains, valleys, and plains shelter ecosystems that interact with all life and provide a record of Earth surface processes that extend back through Earth's history. Despite rapidly growing scientific knowledge of Earth surface interactions, and the increasing availability of new monitoring technologies, there is still little understanding of how these processes generate and degrade landscapes. Landscapes on the Edge identifies nine grand challenges in this emerging field of study and proposes four high-priority research initiatives. The book poses questions about how our planet's past can tell us about its future, how landscapes record climate and tectonics, and how Earth surface science can contribute to developing a sustainable living surface for future generations.




Evolution on Planet Earth


Book Description

Driving evolution forward, the Earth's physical environment has challenged the very survival of organisms and ecosystems throughout the ages. With a fresh new perspective, Evolution on Planet Earth shows how these physical realities and hurdles shaped the primary phases of life on the planet. The book's thorough coverage also includes chapters on more proximate factors and paleoenvironmental events that influenced the diversity of life. A team of notable ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and paleontologists join forces to describe drifting continents, extinction events, and climate change -- important topics that continue to shape Earth's inhabitants to this very day. In a world where global change has become an international issue, this book provides a several billion-year evolutionary perspective on what the environment and environmental change means to life. * Provides thorough background information on each topic while introducing cutting-edge research* Features original material solicited from the leading minds in evolutionary biology and geology today* Emphasizes the influence of massive geological forces - continental drift, volcanic activity, sea and tides




Impacts and the Early Earth


Book Description

Only 10% of the 150 or so known impact craters on Earth date from the early Precambrian Era, a time period covering some 88% of the Earth's history. Yet this Era encompasses fundamental events in the origin and evolution of our planet from the origin of life itself to the development of continents. The papers in this volume were presented at a workshop sponsored by the European Science Foundation Scientific Network on Impact cratering held in Cambridge, UK, in December 1998. The papers outline the present state of scientific understanding of the role impacts may have played in the biological and geological evolution of the Early Earth.




The Life and Death of Planet Earth


Book Description

Planet Earth is middle-aged. Science has worked hard to piece together the story of the evolution of our world up to this point, but only recently have we developed the understanding and the tools to describe the entire life cycle of a planet. Ward and Brownlee, a geologist and an astronomer respectively, combine their knowledge of how the critical sustaining systems of our planet evolve through time with their understanding of the life cycles of stars and solar systems, to tell the story of the second half of Earth's life. The process of evolution will essentially reverse itself: life as we know it will subside until only the simplest forms remain. Eventually, they too will disappear. The oceans will evaporate, the atmosphere will degrade, and, as the sun slowly expands, Earth itself will eventually meet a fiery end. --From publisher description.







New Views of the Moon


Book Description

Volume 60 of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry assesses the current state of knowledge of lunar geoscience, given the data sets provided by missions of the 1990's, and lists remaining key questions as well as new ones for future exploration to address. It documents how a planet or moon other than the world on which we live can be studied and understood in light of integrated suites of specific kinds of information. The Moon is the only body other than Earth for which we have material samples of known geologic context for study. This volume seeks to show how the different kinds of information gained about the Moon relate to each other and also to learn from this experience, thus allowing more efficient planning for the exploration of other worlds.