About the book

One of the most important problems in modern science is the origin of the Earth and formation of its shell. Modern views on the chemical composition of meteorites, planets and other bodies of the Solar System are pres­ented in this book. On the basis of recent achievements in cosmochemistry, the author, who is one of the leading scientists in the field of geochemistry, geophysics, describes the most probable processes that determined the chemical composition of the Earth in the remote past. Prof. George Voitkevich is also a winner of the Kar­pinsky Prize, which is given to a scientist for outstand­ing work in geology by the USSR Academy of Sciences. 

Contents

Preface 5

The Distribution of Elements in the Solar System and Their Geochemical Properties 9

Evidence of the Early History of the Solar System 31

The Nature and Chemical Composi­tion of Planets 45

Composition and Constitution of the Earth 71

The Present and Past Radioactivity of the Earth 87

The Birth of Atoms in Space 97

Chemical Evolution of the Protoplanetary Material 112

Formation of the Earth’s Principal Shells 136

Origin and Evolution of the Ocean and Atmosphere 152

Principal Trends in the Chemical Changes in the Earth’s Crust and Biosphere 181

The Chemical Evolution of the Earth’s Crust 202

Conclusion 223

Bibliography 232