The Biosphere

Vladimir I. Vernadsky

Springer Science & Business Media, Mar 27, 1998 - Science - 178 pages

Long unknown in the West, The Biosphere established the field of biogeochemistry and is one of the classic founding documents of what later became known as Gaia theory. It is the first sustained expression of the idea that life is a geological force that can change Earth's landforms, its climate, and even the contents of its atmosphere. A complete, unabridged translation has never before been available in English. This edition - complete with extensive annotations, an introductory essay placing the work in its historical context and explaining its relevance to readers today, and a foreword cosigned by a stellar group of international experts - will be the definitive edition of this classic work. "What Darwin did for life through time, Vernadsky did for life through space on a geological scale".

Contents

• The Biosphere in the Cosmic Medium: 39
• The Biosphere as a Region of Transformation of Cosmic Energy: 41
• The Empirical Generalization and the Hypothesis: 45
• Living Matter in the Biosphere: 50
• The Multiplication of Organisms and Geochemical Energy in Living Matter: 54
• Photosynthetic Living Matter: 66
• Some Remarks on Living Matter in the Mechanism of the Biosphere: 79
• An Envelope of the Earth: 87
• Living Matter of the First and Second Orders in the Biosphere: 97
• The Limits of Life: 107
• The Limits of Life in the Biosphere: 111
• Life in the Hydrosphere: 120
• Geochemical Cycles of the Living Concentrations and Films of the Hydrosphere: 128
• Living Matter on Land: 136
• The Relationship Between the Living Films and Concentrations of the Hydrosphere and Those of Land: 142
• A Biographical Chronology: 145
• Vernadskys Publications in English: 153
• Bibliography: 154
• Acknowledgments: 177
• Index: 179

About the author

Lynn Margulis was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 5, 1938. She graduated from the University of Chicago at the age of 18. She received a master's degree in genetics and zoology from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of California, Berkeley. She taught for 22 years at Boston University before joining the faculty at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1988. She was best known for her theory of species evolution by symbiogensis. The manuscript in which she first presented her findings was published in 1967 by the Journal of Theoretical Biology. An expanded version, with additional evidence to support the theory, became her first book entitled Origin of Eukaryotic Cells. Her other works include Symbiosis in Cell Evolution, Luminous Fish: Tales of Science and Love, Dazzle Gradually: Reflections on the Nature of Nature, and Mind, Life, and Universe: Conversations with Great Scientists of Our Time. She died five days after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke on November 22, 2011 at the age of 73.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Biosphere; A Peter N. Nevraumont book; Copernicus Series
• Author: Vladimir I. Vernadsky
• Translated by: D.B. Langmuir
• Contributors: M.A.S. McMenamin, L. Margulis, M. Ceruti, S. Golubic, R. Guerrero, N. Ikeda, N. Ikezawa, W.E. Krumbein, A. Lapo, A. Lazcano, D. Suzuki, C. Tickell, M. Walter, P. Westbroek
• Edition: illustrated, revised, annotated
• Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media, 1998
• ISBN: 038798268X, 9780387982687
• Length: 178 pages
• Subjects: Nature / Environmental Conservation & Protection; Science / Earth Sciences / Geology; Science / Life Sciences / Ecology