The Young Earth

An introduction to Archaean geology
1987
ISBN: 978-0-04-550049-9
Verlag: Springer Netherlands

Buch, Englisch, 402 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 639 g

'What are we going to do with a parcel of old stones?' wrote the director of an African museum a century and a half ago, when one of my ancestors presented him with a splendid collection of fossils of mammal-like reptiles. Old stones, however intriguing, are difficult to interpret, dusty, and do not fit well in the neatly ordered contents of a house of learning. Archaean geology, which is the study of the Earth's history in the period from after 9 the end of planetary accretion (4.5-4.4 x 10 years ago) up to the beginning 9 of the Proterozoic (2.5 x 10 years ago) is much the same - a parcel of old stones seemingly impossible to understand. Yet these stones contain the history of our origins: they can tell us a story that is interesting not just to the geologist (for whom this book is primarily written) but instead addresses the human condition in general.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Nisbet, Euan G.

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Geologie Historische Geologie, Geochronologie
• Geowissenschaften Geologie Stratigraphie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

I Background: Concepts and field evidence.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Geochronology and other uses of isotopic analysis.- 3 Archaean terrains: the available geological evidence.- II Reconstructing the Archaean Earth.- 4 The beginnings of life.- 5 Archaean continents.- 6 Archaean volcanism.- 7 Mineral deposits in Archaean rocks.- 8 Models of the early Earth.- Glossary of geological terms for non-geologists.- References.- Author Index.