Abstract

Earth as an Evolving Planetary System is based on Kent Condie’s classic text, Plate Tectonics and Crustal Evolution, which has been revamped and renamed in order to reflect a new emphasis on the evolving interactions of the Earth’s systems. This revised volume synthesizes data from the fields of geophysics, oceanography, planetology, and geochemistry.

It features new chapters on the Earth’s core, biotic systems, and the supercontinent cycle and mantle plume events. It contains expanded treatment of the evolution of the Earth’s crust and mantle, carbon cycle, oxygenation of the atmosphere, and the significance of sulfur isotope fractionation. It also includes new information on mass extinctions and catastrophic events over the last four billion years that have transformed the atmosphere, oceans, and life on Earth. By integrating results from many different disciplines, this important text gives students a broader perspective of the Earth Sciences and shows how specialized data contribute to Earth and planetary history.

This text is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and scientists in other disciplines who want to look at the Earth with a broader perspective.

* New insight on interaction and evolution of Earth system
* Examines the role of castrophic events in Earth's history
* New section on the evolution of the mantle
" The book is an excellent textbook for either an upper class undergraduate course or a graduate course in Earth history."
-Eos (Bulletin of the American Geophysical Union), 2005
Praise for Condie's Plate Tectonics 4E:
"By any standard, this book is a remarkable achievement. The author has produced an outstanding synthesis of more than three decades of research on plate tectonics, mantle evolution and the origin of continents."
--Geoscientist
"This volume provides a substantial update to Condie's established text,Plate Tectonics and Crustal Evolution, Fourth Edition. It emphasizes the interactive nature of various components of the Earth system..."
-Linda Chappell, Information and Research Services, Lunar and Planetary Institute