Springer Praxis Books

How Rock Shaped the Surface of Earth and Other Worlds

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In this book, David Stevenson offers us a look at the evolution of planets as they move from balls of mixed molten rock to vibrant worlds capable of hosting life. Granite is the key rock in the creation of complex, intelligent organisms on our world and very likely on other planets as well. This book summarizes the interdisciplinary research surrounding this process, painting a picture of biological evolution in partnership with geological evolution. The findings illustrate how the nature of a planet’s surface has profound consequences for many of its other features, ultimately assisting or hindering the development and diversification of life. Linking together the geology of a planet and its contribution toward the evolution of living organisms has been a missing gap in popular astronomy. Stevenson synthesizes what we know about one key rock that dominates our world and that may be indirectly responsible for the existence of intelligent living beings. This is a hot topic currently being investigated in academic circles around the world, and so this book serves as a great primer for anybody interested in discovering how geology determines biology and its underlying evolutionary processes.