A History of the Earth

First published in 1993, this book surveys both the history of the Earth and the nature of the processes that controlled its history. It integrates information from many fields to provide a comprehensive summary of an interdisciplinary topic. Fundamental processes such as convection, thermal evolution of the Earth, evolution of the crust, mantle, orogeny, and rifting are explained. Historical topics such as the origin of life, paleontologic extinction events, differences between the Archean and younger time periods, deposition of Precambrian sediments, and evolution of the atmosphere and oceans are discussed. The book then focuses on the development of modern ocean basins, the history of Phanerozoic orogenic belts, and the nature of cratonic sedimentary cover sequences. The book can be used as a reference to give an overview of earth history for readers in other research areas, and as a broad introduction to this vast subject for all interested in earth science.

1. Introduction; 2. Principal controls on earth history; 3. The Archean; 4. Processes in a rigid lithosphere; 5. The Proterozoic; 6. The Paleozoic; Part I. Life, climates, and oceans: 7. The Paleozoic; Part II. Tectonics: 8. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic; Part III. Oceans, atmosphere, climates, and life: 9. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic: Part IV. Consumption, collision, and the development of small ocean basins.

This book surveys the history of the Earth and the nature of the processes that controlled its history. Integrating information from many fields, the book focuses on fundamental processes, the geological record, historical topics, and specific areas such as the development of modern ocean basins and the nature of cratonic sedimentary cover sequences.