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Origin and Evolution of the Atmosphere and Ocean

  • 2025
  • Book
Author
Guido Visconti
Publisher
Springer Nature Switzerland
Part of
Springer Professional "Business + Economics & Engineering + Technology"
Springer Professional "Engineering + Technology"
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About this book

The book is about the origin and evolution of the atmosphere and the ocean. It spans an impressive number of concepts from radiative theory to geochemistry, from dating methods to climatic theories. Each chapter provides the necessary physics, chemistry and biology tools in such a way to facilitate easy interpretation. The chapters explore the solar system, the formation of the earth, the chemistry of the earths origin, the ancient atmosphere, the origin and evolution of the oceans, biogeochemical cycles, climate evolution, the present status of the atmosphere and oceans, as well as looking at the future of these. Each chapter includes an appendix of further explanation or calculations.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. The Solar System
Abstract
To understand the origin and evolution of the atmosphere and oceans on our planet (the Earth) we need to give some data on our solar system. As we know it is made up by the Sun, eight planets, the asteroid belt and some minor object. Table 1.1 give a summary of some of the data relevant to the planets and the Sun.
Guido Visconti
Chapter 2. The Formation of the Earth
Abstract
We have now some information on the primordial disc. These objects are now being observed by Earth based and spaceborne telescopes. In this chapter we would like to study how from this disk the terrestrial planets (and so the Earth) may form. The key to understand this process is the gravitational instability of a flat object. We should be familiar with the Jeans instability which refers to a limit condition when on a spherical object the pull of gravity overcome the pressure force while we are much less familiar when the instability refer to a flat object. The pieces resulting from this instability may give origin to the embryo of the planet that we call planetesimals. The subsequent interactions of such planetesimals give raises to rocky planets. To illustrate this path we will follow the illuminating work of Philip Armitage while this mechanism was first introduced by Viktor Safronov  of the Moscow University in a precious little book of 1969 and by Peter Goldreich and Robert Ward of Caltech in a paper five years later.
Guido Visconti
Chapter 3. The Chemistry of the Earth Origin
Abstract
Now we understand that during its formation our planet got a steam atmosphere. Presumably during the cooling phase all the water vapor in the atmosphere would condense and form the ocean (we will talk about that later in the book). This steam atmosphere should have been substituted by a primordial atmosphere originated probably by the degassing of impact planetesinals.
Guido Visconti
Chapter 4. The Ancient Atmosphere
Abstract
In the previous chapters we have learned the basics on the origin of the atmosphere of the Earth. The main conclusion is that the atmosphere was not captured from the nebular gas but was released from the impacts of planetesimals with the Earth surface. There were huge amounts of water vapor that made up the primitive atmosphere. The subsequent cooling of the planet caused the water vapor to condense and forms the oceans. A good part of the remaining water in the atmosphere was split by photodissociation with the hydrogen and other light gases escaping. One possible proof of this process is the abundance of the inert gases. The recent formed mantle would release volcanic gases starting about 4.0 billion of years ago that would produce a reducing atmosphere which was made up of hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide that would provide the environment for the origin of life.
Guido Visconti
Chapter 5. Origin and Evolution of the Oceans
Abstract
We have seen up to this point how the atmosphere of the Earth originated and we have vaguely mentioned that water was liberated from the impacts of planetesimals and may be comets creating a steam atmosphere that with the cooling of the planet resulted in a liquid mass, the oceans. We need now to know some proof of this theory together with the knowledge of the chemical evolution of the oceans, how they acquired and maintained the salinity. Oceans probably contributed also to the change in the composition of the atmosphere (i.e., the rise of oxygen) and finally to the origin of life.
Guido Visconti
Chapter 6. Biogeochemical Cycles: The Rise of Oxygen (and Nitrogen)
Abstract
The time has arrived to deal with the most important topic of this book: the evolution of oxygen in the atmosphere of the Earth. There is a huge amount of material on this subject and we decided that the most reasonable reference is the works of Heinrich Holland, James Kasting, and David Catling besides the classical approach of James Walker. It is quite clear that oxygen rise is related to the appearance of life on Earth but contrary to the popular belief the maintenance on the oxygen level is related to geochemistry and to the tectonic movements in the planet. The source of oxygen is clearly related to an imbalance between photosynthesis (which produces oxygen and organic matter) and respiration (which consumes oxygen) because part of the organic matter is subtracted to oxidation by burial. So it is clear that oxygen is related to the existence of life and to the cycling of carbon.
Guido Visconti
Chapter 7. The Climate Evolution
Abstract
The atmosphere of a planet is very important for the determination of its climate. As we know well the atmospheric composition may change with time causing the climate to change on historical time scale (i.e., in a few tens of years) as it is happening at the present time due to the increasing abundance of the greenhouse gases mixing ratios. Considering the drastic changes in the composition of the atmosphere, the distribution and extension of the continents we expect to find a corresponding evolution in the climate of the Earth. There is an additional variable related to the astrophysical factor and that is that our Sun follows a luminosity evolution typical of its star class which makes it roughly 5% brighter every Ga. That makes the output of the star 30% lower when the Solar System was born. However even with such decrease in the solar output evidence shows that on our planet still had temperature which permitted the survival of life forms. This corresponds to the so-called Faint Young Sun Paradox that was discovered by Carl Sagan and George Mullen more than 50 years ago. First of all we will ask how we can assert the environmental conditions on such distant past and then follow possibly the evolution of the climate of the Earth until the present epoch.
Guido Visconti
Chapter 8. The Present Status of Atmosphere and Oceans
Abstract
We are confident we gave some idea how the fluid portions of the planet have evolved in more than 4.5 billion years. It is time to ask what are today the conditions of the atmosphere and the oceans while we reserve the last chapter to make some hypotheses on what to expect in the future. The first thing to notice is that for the first time in the history of our planet both the atmosphere and the oceans feel the presence of human activity. We all know the problem related to the emission of greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide) for the atmosphere and the acidification of oceans and rain. We have also mentioned the slow increase in temperature of the surface ocean, the plastic pollution, and so on.
Guido Visconti
Chapter 9. The Future of the Atmosphere and Oceans
Abstract
Up to now we have narrated the history of the Earth’s atmosphere and the oceans. It is a story that spans billions of years and it is time to speculate of what could happen in the future. It is already a very hard exercise to predict the near future, (let us say the next 1000 years) so that it looks as an academic endeavor to predict what could happen in the next few billion years. It is obvious that short-term changes are mainly the consequences of human activities while the long-term effect may depend on the expected evolution of our star (the Sun) or from some unexpected events like a repetition of the dinosaur impact. Even the human activities could bring the Earth system to much feared tipping point with a sudden and irreversible change in the environment or even materialize the great filter hypothesis, that is, the self-destruction of civilization.
Guido Visconti
Backmatter
Title
Origin and Evolution of the Atmosphere and Ocean
Author
Guido Visconti
Copyright Year
2025
Electronic ISBN
978-3-032-02653-8
Print ISBN
978-3-032-02652-1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-02653-8

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