Early Earth Systems: A Geochemical Approach

Early Earth Systems provides a complete history of the Earth from its beginnings to the end of the Archaean. This journey through the Earth′s early history begins with the Earth′s origin, then examines the evolution of the mantle, the origin of the continental crust, the origin and evolution of the Earth′s atmosphere and oceans, and ends with the origin of life.
Examining the evidence for the Earth′s very early differentiation into core, mantle, crust, atmosphere, and oceans, Early Earth Systems looks at how this differentiation saw extreme interactions within the Earth system. The extent to which such interactions continued throughout the Archaean is discussed within the framework of the Earth System Science paradigm, providing a qualitative assessment of the principal reservoirs and fluxes in the early Earth.
This book provides an essential overview of the early history of the Earth and of Archaean Earth processes for advanced undergraduates in Earth Sciences and for postgraduate students and researchers interested in the early Earth. It will also be valuable to environmental scientists, biologists, and planetary scientists.

Spis treści:
1. The Earth System.
Introduction.
The Nature of the Early Geological Record.
Archaean Lithological Associations.
The Oldest Rocks.
How Much do we Really Know About the Early Earth?.
2. The Origin and Differentiation of the Earth.
The Origin and Early History of the Universe.
Star Formation.
The Condensation of the Solar System.
Earth Differentiation – the First Earth System.
3. The Evolution of the Earth’s Mantle.
Understanding the Mantle.
The Earth’s Earliest Mantle.
Mantle Models.
4. The Origin of the Continental Crust.
Modern Crust Formation – Models and Mechanisms.
First Order Constraints on the Origin of the Continental Crust.
The Secular Evolution of the Earth’s Continental Crust.
Crustal Growth During the Archaean.
Crust–Mantle Interactions: Reservoirs and Fluxes.
5. The Origin of the Earth’s Atmosphere and Oceans.
The Volatile Budget of the Modern Earth.
The Origin of the Earth’s Atmosphere and Oceans.
The Nature of the Archaean Atmosphere.
The Nature of the Archaean Oceans.
6. The Origin of Life.
Setting the Scene for Life.
Geochemical Signals of Biological Activity.
The Geological Record of Life’s Origins.
The Microbial Record of Life’s Origins.
In the Beginning….
7. Postscript.
References.
Index

Nota biograficzna:
Hugh Rollinson is Professor of Earth Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University.

Okładka tylna:
Early Earth Systems provides a complete history of the Earth from its beginnings to the end of the Archaean. This journey through the Earth′s early history begins with the Earth′s origin, then examines the evolution of the mantle, the origin of the continental crust, the origin and evolution of the Earth′s atmosphere and oceans, and ends with the origin of life.
Examining the evidence for the Earth′s very early differentiation into core, mantle, crust, atmosphere, and oceans, Early Earth Systems looks at how this differentiation saw extreme interactions within the Earth system. The extent to which such interactions continued throughout the Archaean is discussed within the framework of the Earth System Science paradigm, providing a qualitative assessment of the principal reservoirs and fluxes in the early Earth.
This book provides an essential overview of the early history of the Earth and of Archaean Earth processes for advanced undergraduates in Earth Sciences and for postgraduate students and researchers interested in the early Earth. It will also be valuable to environmental scientists, biologists, and planetar y scientists.