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Surviving 1000 Centuries Can We Do It?

:	Roger-Maurice Bonnet, Lodewyk Woltjer
:	Surviving 1000 Centuries Can We Do It?
:	Praxis
:	9780387746357
:	1
:	CHF 38.60
:

:	Astronomie
:	English

:	422
:	Wasserzeichen/DRM
:	PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
:	PDF

The circumstances that will shape the long-term future of our planet will be constrained by what is physically possible and what is not. Thisfull color book provides a quantitative view of our civilization over the next 100,000 years, in comparison to the 40-60,000 years it took for modern humans to emerge from Africa, on the basis of contemporary scientific and technological knowledge. The evolution of the Earth's atmosphere and the origin of water are highlighted as the most important factors for the emergence and the development of life.

The authors consider both cosmic and natural hazards, pointing out that scientific information provided by satellites and communication systems on the ground could prevent many unnecessary casualties by forward planning and the installation of elementary precautions. The Earth's evolving climate is considered, showing how greenhouse gases have played an important role in the past climate, whereas human industrial and agricultural emissions will greatly impact our future.

Dr R M Bonnet and Dr L Woltjer are outstanding, internationally renowned scientists. During his long tenure at the European Space Agency, Dr Bonnet has directed the launch of 17 artificial scientific satellites, initiating the development of the Huygens probe placed on the NASA Cassini Saturn Orbiter which landed on Titan on 14 January 2005, developing the successful Mars Express mission and directing the SMART-1 European lunar mission. He is President of COSPAR and Executive Director of ISSI and has acquired a world reputation in the field of space politics. After 11 years at Columbia University, NY, Dr Woltjer returned to Europe as Director General of ESO for 13 years. Since then he has worked closely with the Observatories de Haute Provence in France and the University of Florence in Italy, was President of the International Astronomical Union and Chairman of the Space Science Advisory Committee of ESA for 4 years.

	Table of Contents	296
	5	296
	List of Illustrations	296
	10	296
	Foreword	296
	14	296
	Preface	296
	16	296
	Acknowledgments	296
	18	296
	1 Introduction	296
	19	296
	1.1 Why a hundred thousand years ?	296
	19	296
	1.2 People and resources	296
	23	296
	1.3 Management and cooperarion	296
	25	296
	1.4 The overall plan of the book	296
	27	296
	1.5 Notes and references	296
	29	296
	2 A Brief History of the Earth	296
	30	296
	2.1 The age of the Earth	296
	30	296
	2.2 Geological timescales	296
	33	296
	2.3 The formation of the Moon and the Late Heavy Bombardment	296
	35	296
	2.4 Continents and plate tectonics	296
	40	296
	2.4.1 Continents	296
	40	296
	2.4.2 Plate tectonics	296
	41	296
	2.4.3 The Earth's magnetic field	296
	45	296
	2.4 Evolution ofthe Earth's atmosphere	296
	48	296
	2.6 Life and evolution	296
	52	296
	2.6.1 The early fossils in the Archean	296
	52	296
	2.6.2 The Proterozoic and the apparition of oxygen	296
	54	296
	2.6.3 The Neo-Proterozoic: the Ediacarans and the 'snowball earth'	296
	55	296
	2.6.4 The Phanerozoic, life extinctions	296
	60	296
	2.7 Conclusion	296
	65	296
	2.8 Notes and references	296
	65	296
	3 Cosmic Menaces	296
	70	296
	3.1 Introduction	296
	70	296
	3.2 Galactic hazards	296
	71	296
	3.2.1 The death of the Sun	296
	74	296
	3.2.2 Encounters with interstellar clouds and stars	296
	74	296
	3.2.3 Supernovae explosions, UV radiation and cosmic rays	296
	76	296
	3.2.4 Gamma-ray bursts and magnetars	296
	77	296
	3.3 Solar System hazards	296
	79	296
	3.3.1 Past tracks of violence	296
	79	296
	3.3.2 The nature of the impactors: asteroids and comets	296
	83	296
	3.3.3 Estimating the danger	296
	90	296
	3.3.4 The bombardment continues	296
	93	296
	3.3.5 Mitigation measures	296
	97	296
	3.3.6 Deviation from the dangerous path	296
	97	296
	3.3.7 Decision making	296
	101	296
	3.3.8 Space debris	296
	102	296
	3.4 Conclusion	296
	106	296
	3.5 Notes and references	296
	106	296
	4 Terrestrial Hazards	296
	109	296
	4.1 Introduction	296
	109	296
	4.2 Diseases	296
	111	296
	4.2.1 How old shall we be in 1,000 centuries?	296
	114	296
	4.2.2 How tall shall we be in 1,000 centuries ?	296
	116	296
	4.3 Seismis hazards: the threat of volcanoes	296
	118	296
	4.3.1 Volcanoes and tectonic activity	296
	118	296
	4.3.2 The destructive power of volcanoes	296
	122	296
	4.3.3 Volcanoes and climate change	296
	125	296
	4.3.4 Forecasting eruptions	296
	128	296