Did you know that the history of Earth can be revealed by examining everything on it? From the esoteric science of minerals to the interactions between humans and their environment, our planet provides answers to every question we could ask about its history and what lies ahead. As climate change impacts everything we do on our planet, now is the time to take a closer look at what messages Earth has for us: what does it mean when the wind blows or the ground shifts? In this book, geologist Elisabeth Ervin-Blankenheim reveals the history of our planet through a geologic lens and explains why everyone should care about it.
Song of the Earth is a thrilling biography of our planet that equips readers with the scientific, historical, and philosophical symbiosis between humans and Earth. Ervin-Blankenheim explores geologic principles of deep time, plate tectonics, and change in life forms in plain English. The book is illustrated with striking maps, diagrams, and pictures, allowing her to dissect everything from how a roiling, molten planet cooled to how the first cyanobacteria began to oxygenate the atmosphere to how the atmosphere has changed over time.
Ervin-Blankenheim journeys through the science with ease and provides narrative sections about pioneering geologists and their groundbreaking discoveries. In viewing the planet as the integrated ecosystem it is, Ervin-Blankenheim showcases how land, water, life, and the atmosphere maintain an elegant yet delicate balance--one that, based on the author's evidence of current trends in the context of past planetary cataclysm, appears to be under imminent threat. At times both gripping and lovingly poetic, Song of the Earth shows not only how Earth has influenced life, but also how life has distinctly shaped our planet
Author(s): Elisabeth Ervin-Blankenheim
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 376
cover
Song of the Earth
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Why Geology?
1. Geology Emerges as a Science: European Roots
European Scientific Geological Developments
Nicolaus Steno
James Hutton
Abraham Werner
Etheldred Benett
William “Strata” Smith
William Buckland
Charles Lyell
Mary Anning
Louis Agassiz in Europe
Early French Geologists
2. Geology Emerges as a Science: On the Other Side of the Pond
American Scientific Geological Developments
Louis Agassiz in the United States
James Dwight Dana
Sir John William Dawson
John Wesley Powell
Clarence King
Florence Bascom
3. Geologic Time: From an Early Geologic Time Scale
The Age of the Earth: Geologic Time
About the Time Scale of the Earth: Ordering of Events through Relative Age-Dating
Development of the Geologic Time Scale
Abraham Werner and an Early Geologic Time Scale
Expansion of the Time Scale of Geology
Periods of the Paleozoic Era
Periods of the Mesozoic Era
Periods of the Cenozoic Era
Geologic Eras
Measuring Time: The Final Frontier
4. Geologic Time: Measuring Time and the Nature of Deep Time
Quantifying Time: Numerical Dating
Radioactivity and Isotopes: History and Use in Geology
The Present Geologic Time Scale
Mapping the Geologic Time Scale
Deep Time: A New Orientation to Geologic Time
5. Plate Tectonics: History of the Revolution in Earth Sciences
How the Crust of the Earth Moves: Overview of Plate Tectonics
Setting the Stage for Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics
Eduard Suess and His Tectonics
Antarctic Exploration, the Terra Nova Expedition, and Plate Tectonics
Alfred Wegener and Continental Drift
Data for Continental Drift
Mechanisms for Continental Drift: Early Ideas
Post–World War II Exploration of the Ocean Floor: A Unified Theory of Plate Tectonics
6. Plate Tectonics: Oceans, Continents, Plates, and How They Interact
Plate Tectonics Theory
Divergent Plate Boundaries
Convergent Plate Boundaries
Transform Plate Boundaries
Hotspots and Diffuse Boundary Zones
Diffuse Boundaries
Unknown or Speculative Boundaries
Consequences of Plate Tectonics
Past and Present Tectonics
Tying It All Together
7. Life on the Earth: Evolution, Extinctions, and Biodiversity
Development and Change of Life on the Earth: Evolution and Natural Selection
Charles Darwin, the Journey of HMS Beagle, and Natural Selection
Fossils and Preservation of Ancient Life
The Historical “Bone Wars” of Marsh and Cope: Filling Out the Dinosaur Fossil Record
Genes, DNA, and Quantitative Biology
Toward a Unified Synthetic Theory of Evolution
Horse Fossils, Their Geologic History, and Change in Environmental Conditions
Evolution in Action
Extinction Events and Their Impact on Evolution
Mass Extinctions
Biodiversity throughout the Geologic Record
Unifying Theories and the Future
8. The Biography of the Earth: The Precambrian Story
Hadean Eon, 4,600–4,000 Million Years Ago
Archean Eon, 4,000–2,500 Million Years Ago
Proterozoic Eon, 2,500–541 Million Years Ago
Snowball Earths and Emergence of More Complex Life
9. The Biography of the Earth: Paleozoic Era
Cambrian Period, 541–485.4 Million Years Ago
Ordovician Period, 485.4–443.8 Million Years Ago
Silurian Period, 443.8–419.2 Million Years Ago
Devonian Period, 419.2–358.9 Million Years Ago
Carboniferous Period, 358.9–298.9 Million Years Ago
Permian Period, 298.9–251.9 Million Years Ago
10. The Biography of the Earth: Mesozoic Era
Triassic Period, 251.9–201.3 Million Years Ago
Jurassic Period, 201.3–145.0 Million Years Ago
Cretaceous Period, 145.0–66.0 Million Years Ago
11. Biography of the Earth: Cenozoic Era
Paleogene Period, 66.0–23.03 Million Years Ago
Neogene Period, 23.03–2.58 Million Years Ago
Quaternary Period, 2.58 Million Years Ago to Present
12. The Earth’s Impact on Life and Life’s Impact on the Earth
The Earth: Interconnected Systems
Population Matters
Geosphere–Human Interaction
Hydrosphere–Human Interaction
Biosphere–Human Interaction
Atmosphere and Climate–Human Interaction
Interfaces among All Spheres
Soils and Their Significance
Temperature, Weather, and Climate
The Dynamic Carbon Cycle
Song of the Earth and Implications
Looking Backward to Look Forward
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index
