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Chapter 1 The Formation of the Sun and Planets |
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1 | (36) |
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The Sun's Protoplanetary Infancy |
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8 | (14) |
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22 | (15) |
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Chapter 2 Formation and Early Infancy of the Earth |
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37 | (24) |
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The Rapid Differentiation of a Metallic Nucleus: The Core |
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40 | (6) |
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Opening a Protective Umbrella: the Birth of the Earth's Magnetic Field |
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46 | (1) |
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A Partially Molten Earth: the Magma Ocean Assumption |
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46 | (7) |
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The Birth of the Outer Shells: The Atmosphere and the Hydrosphere |
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53 | (6) |
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The Conclusion: a Planet That Was Undoubtedly Uninhabitable |
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59 | (2) |
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Chapter 3 Water, Continents, and Organic Matter |
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61 | (32) |
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The Two Faces of the Earth's Crust |
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63 | (3) |
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The Fabulous Story Told by the Jack Hills Zircons |
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66 | (7) |
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The Atmosphere Between 4.4 and 4.0 Ga: An Outline |
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73 | (6) |
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From the Atmosphere to the Bottom of the Oceans: Was the Earth Rich in Organic Matter? |
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79 | (10) |
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Was a Niche for Life Available as Early as This? |
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89 | (4) |
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Chapter 4 Intermezzo: The Gestation of Life and its First Steps |
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93 | (62) |
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From Chemistry to Biology |
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96 | (4) |
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The Unavoidable Question: What is Life? |
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100 | (3) |
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The Origins of Metabolism |
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103 | (7) |
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The Origin of Genetic Systems |
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110 | (11) |
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The Origin of Compartments |
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121 | (3) |
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A Final Word on the Gestation of Life |
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124 | (5) |
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The Last Common Ancestor of All Existing Organisms: a Portrait |
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129 | (14) |
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The Earliest Diversification of Life |
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143 | (12) |
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Chapter 5 The Late Heavy Bombardment |
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155 | (12) |
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In Search of the Lost impacts |
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156 | (4) |
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Late, or Continuous, Bombardment? The Two Competing Scenarios |
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160 | (1) |
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The Late Heavy Bombardment: a Cataclysmic Scenario |
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161 | (3) |
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A Rain of Meteorites: The Consequences of the Late Heavy Bombardment |
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164 | (3) |
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Chapter 6 The Messages from the Oldest Terrestrial Rocks |
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167 | (44) |
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The Scattered Remnants of One of the Oldest Continents |
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169 | (3) |
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3.4 Billion Years Ago, in the Heart of a Vast Archaean Continent |
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172 | (2) |
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The Saga of the Oldest Archaean Continents |
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174 | (12) |
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Modeling the Terrestrial Atmosphere at 3.8 Ga |
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186 | (4) |
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The Archaean Oceans: Saline and Hot? |
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190 | (3) |
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The Earth's Machinery During the Archaean: Plate Tectonics Between 3.8 and 2.5 Ga |
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193 | (5) |
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A Newly Habitable and Already Inhabited Planet |
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198 | (4) |
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Traces of Ancient Life: Data and Controversies |
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202 | (9) |
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Chapter 7 A Planet Where Life Diversifies |
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211 | (30) |
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From the Primitive Earth to the Modern Earth |
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212 | (1) |
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Birth, Life and Death of an Ocean: the Wilson Cycle |
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213 | (2) |
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Ephemeral Giants: the Supercontinents and their Cycle |
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215 | (1) |
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The Crucial Consequences of the Supercontinent Cycle for the Earth's Environment |
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216 | (2) |
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The Appearance of Atmospheric Oxygen: a Revolutionary Event! |
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218 | (4) |
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222 | (7) |
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The Evolution of the Prokaryotes |
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229 | (1) |
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The Origin and Diversification of the Eukaryotes |
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230 | (11) |
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Chapter 8 Other Planets, Other Living Worlds? |
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241 | (22) |
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Life Elsewhere in the Solar System? |
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242 | (3) |
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Unexpected Worlds Beyond the Solar System: Exoplanets |
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245 | (2) |
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From "Hot Jupiters" to "Super-Earths" |
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247 | (2) |
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"Habitable" Exoplanets: Other Earths? |
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249 | (2) |
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251 | (3) |
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254 | (9) |
| Epilogue |
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263 | (4) |
| The Main Principles for Rock Classification |
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267 | (6) |
| The 14 Chronological Stages in the Origin of the Earth and Life |
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273 | (10) |
| Glossary |
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283 | (14) |
| Further Reading |
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297 | (2) |
| Figure Credits |
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299 | |
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