Waubonsee Community College

Ocean worlds, the story of seas on Earth and other planets, Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 266-286) and index

illustrationsmapsplates

index present

non fiction

Ocean worlds

bibliography

887933057

Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams

the story of seas on Earth and other planets

Ours is an ocean world. The Earth's surface is dominated by water. It is most likely that life on our planet originated in the oceans, and for millions of years was nurtured there. And it was water that allowed the development of that powerful mechanism of heat exchange and surface renewal on Earth - plate tectonics. Water has profoundly shaped our planet, and was essential to the evolution of life. But water is not confined to the Earth, and oceans elsewhere may be formed of other liquids. In this account of ocean worlds, Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams explore how our oceans first formed, and their impact on the dynamics of the planet. They consider how the oceans become salty; their role as the cradle of life; the system of currents that affects climate; and the future of Earth's oceans. But the Earth is emphatically set in its wider cosmological context, and we look beyond our planet at the evidence of oceans on several moons in our Solar System, and signs that Mars may once have possessed seas. Water vapour has been detected far out in space, and there are now signs of water on planets beyond our Solar System. It is only a matter of time, surely, before other Earth-like ocean worlds are found. -- from dust jacket

Water in the cosmos -- Ocean origins on earth -- Ocean forms -- The salt of the earth -- Moving the waters -- Life of the oceans -- Oceans in crisis -- The end of earthly oceans -- Oceans of the solar system -- Undreamed shores