Evolution of the terrestrial planets

The evolution of the atmosphere of Earth was studied by computer modeling by Hart (1978). He included many known processes in his computer model, and required solutions that reproduce present conditions after evolving for 4.6 X 10  

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Taylor, S. R. (1992) Solar System Evolution A New Perspective. Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 307 pp. A thorough treatise that covers ideas about the origin and evolution of the terrestrial planets. 

D. M. Hunten, Atmospheric evolution of the terrestrial planets. Science 259, 915-920 (1993) J. F. Kasting, Earth s early atmosphere. Science 259, 920-926 (1993) R. A. Berner, Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over phanerozoic time. Science 249, 1382-1386 (1990) R. A. Berner, Paleozoic atmospheric CO2 importance of solar radiation and plant evolution. Science 261, 68-70 (1993). 

Ringwood, A. E. Chemical evolution of the terrestrial planets. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 30, 41 (1966). 

Hunten, D.M., 1993. Atmospheric evolution of the terrestrial planets. Science, 259, 915-20. 

The giant planets, especially Jupiter and Saturn, significantly influenced accretion in the inner Solar System, with important consequences for the properties of the terrestrial planets, described in Section 10.4.1. The influence of the giant planets is especially strong in the Asteroid Belt. Given that meteorites are our primary samples of primitive Solar System material, understanding the role of dynamical and collisional processes in the formation and evolution of the Asteroid Belt is of fundamental importance for theories of planet formation (Section 10.4.2). 

The elements of the chondritic meteorites, and hence of the terrestrial planets, were formed in previous generations of stars. Their relative abundances represent the result of the general chemical evolution of the galaxy, possibly enhanced by recent local additions from one or more specific sources just prior to collapse of the solar nebula —4.56 Gyr ago. A volumetrically minor, but nevertheless highly significant part of this chemical inventory, is comprised of radioactive elements, from which this age estimate is derived. The famihar long-lived radionuclides, such as Th, Rb, K, and others,... 

Kaula W. M. (1986) The interiors of the terrestrial planets their structure and evolution. In The Solar System (ed. M. G. Kivelson). Prentice-Hall, Englewood Chffs, NJ, pp. 78-93. 

Ahrens T. J., O Keefe J. D., and Lange M. A. (1989) Formation of atmospheres during accretion of the terrestrial planets. In Origin and Evolution of Planetary and Satellite Atmospheres (eds. S. K. Atreya, J. B. Pollack, and M. S. Matthews). University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 328—385. 

Cockell C. S. (2000) The ultraviolet history of the terrestrial planets—implications for biological evolution. Planet. Space Sci. 48, 203 -214. 

Abe, Y., 1997. Thermal and chemical evolution of the terrestrial magma ocean. Rhys. Earth Planet. Interior, 100, 27-39. 

Astrophysics does not Include the planet Earth in its domain of inquiry and I exclude it from consideration other than to note that the study of planetary and satellite atmospheres whose histories have not been modified by biological processes provides Important Insights into their significance in the evolution of the terrestrial atmosphere and Into the potentially catastrophic Impact of human activities. 

We have already discussed where there is water and how it is distributed on Earth. Our Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets. The mass is 5.97 x 10 kg, the density 5.5 gcm . The oceans comprise 2/3 of its surface. Over the whole evolution, the mass of land has increased steadily, during the past two billion years, the total area of the continents has doubled. Like the other terrestrial planets, the interior of the Earth can be divided into layers the lithosphere is found at a depth between 0-60 km, the crust between 5 and 70 km, the mantle between 35 and 2890 km, the outer core between 2890 and 5100 km and the inner core between 5100 and 6371 km (density 12 gcm ). The geothermal gradient is the rate of increase in temperature per unit depth in the Earth. This internal heat is produced by radioactive decay... 

Before discussing the occurrence of water on surfaces of the terrestrial planets at present and in the past we shortly describe the early Sun evolution since this had important influence on the water history of the planets. 

Lammer et al., 2008 [192] discussed the origin and evolution of Venus , Earth s, Mars and Titan s atmospheres from the time when the active young Sun arrived at the Zero-Age-Main-Sequence. Thermal and various nonthermal atmospheric escape processes influenced the evolution and isotope fractionation of the atmospheres and water inventories of the terrestrial planets efficiently. 

Cosmochemislry places important constraints on models for the origin of the solar nebula and the formation and evolution of planets. We explore nebula constraints by defining the thermal conditions under which meteorite components formed and examine the isotopic evidence for interaction of the nebula with the ISM and a nearby supernova. We consider how planetary bulk compositions are estimated and how they are used to understand the formation of the terrestrial and giant planets from nebular materials. We review the differentiation of planets, focusing especially on the Earth. We also consider how orbital and collisional evolution has redistributed materials formed in different thermal and compositional regimes within the solar system. 

There is evidence from chondrites that the solar nebula was well mixed between 0.1 and 10 AU during its first several million years of the evolution, as shown by the homogeneity in concentrations of many isotopes of refractory elements (Boss 2004 Chapter 9). This is likely caused by the evaporation and recondensation of solids in the very hot inner nebula, followed by outward transport due to turbulent diffusion and angular momentum removal. Materials out of which terrestrial planets and asteroids are built have been heated to temperatures above 1300 K and are thus depleted in volatile elements. The inner solar nebula, with some exceptions, does not retain memories of the pristine interstellar medium (ISM) chemical composition (Palme 2001 Trieloff Palme 2006). 

Abe Y. (1993) Thermal evolution and chemical differentiation of the terrestrial magma ocean. In Evolution of the Earth and Planets, Geophysical Monograph 74 (eds. E. Takahashi, R. Jeanloz, and D. Rubie). lUGG, American Geophysical Union, Washington, vol. 14, pp. 41-54. 

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