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“The Early Evolution of the Atmospheres of Terrestrial Planets” presents the main processes participating in the atmospheric evolution of terrestrial planets. A group of experts in the different fields provide an update of our current knowledge on this topic. Several papers in this book discuss the key role of nitrogen in the atmospheric evolution of terrestrial planets. The earliest setting and evolution of planetary atmospheres of terrestrial planets is directly associated with accretion, chemical differentiation, outgassing, stochastic impacts, and extremely high energy fluxes from their host stars. This book provides an overview of the present knowledge of the initial atmospheric composition of the terrestrial planets. Additionally it includes some papers about the current exoplanet discoveries and provides additional clues to our understanding of Earth's transition from a hot accretionary phase into a habitable world. All papers included were reviewed by experts in their respective fields.We are living in an epoch of important exoplanet discoveries, but current properties of these exoplanets do not match our scientific predictions using standard terrestrial planet models. This book deals with the main physio-chemical signatures and processes that could be useful to better understand the formation of rocky planets.

Leading researchers in the area of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe contributed to Exobiology: Matter, Energy, and Information in the Origin and Evolution of Life in the Universe. This volume provides a review of this interdisciplinary field. In 50 chapters many aspects that contribute to exobiology are reviewed by 90 authors. These include: historical perspective of biological evolution; cultural aspects of exobiology, cosmic, chemical and biological evolution, molecular biology, geochronology, biogeochemistry, biogeology, and planetology. Some of the current missions are discussed. Other subjects in the frontier of exobiology are reviewed, such as the search for planets outside the solar system, and the possible manifestation of intelligence in those new potential environments. The SETI research effort is well represented in this general overview of exobiology. This book is the proceedings of the Fifth Trieste Conference on Chemical Evolution that took place in September 1997. The volume is dedicated to the memory of Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam who suggested the initiation of the Trieste conferences on chemical evolution and the origin of life. Audience: Graduate students and researchers in the many areas of basic, earth, and life sciences that contribute to the study of chemical evolution and the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe.

Leading researchers in the area of the origin and evolution of life in the universe contributed to Chemical Evolution: Physics of the Origin and Evolution of Life. This volume provides a review of this interdisciplinary field. In 35 chapters many aspects of the origin of life are discussed by 90 authors, with particular emphasis on the early paleontological record: physical, chemical, biological, and informational aspects of life's origin, instrumentation in exobiology and system exploration; the search for habitable planets and extraterrestrial intelligent radio signals. This book contains the proceedings of the Fourth Trieste Conference on Chemical Evolution that took place in September 1995, in which scientists from a wide geographical distribution joined in a Memorial to Cyril Ponnamperuma, who was a pioneer in the field of chemical evolution, the origin of life, and exobiology, and also initiated the Trieste Conferences on Chemical Evolution and the Origin of Life. This fourth Conference was therefore dedicated to his memory. Audience: Graduate students and researchers in the many areas of basic, earth, and life sciences that contribute to the study of chemical evolution and the origin of life.

Proceedings of the Sixth Trieste Conference on Chemical Evolution, Trieste, Italy, 18-22 September 2000

Given the fundamental importance of and universal interest in whether extraterrestrial life has developed or could eventually develop in our solar system and beyond, it is vital that an examination of planetary habitability go beyond simple assumptions such as,'Where there is water, there is life'. This book has resulted from a workshop at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) in Bern, Switzerland which brought together planetary geologists, geophysicists, atmospheric scientists and biologists to discuss the multi-faceted problem of how the habitability of a planet co-evolves with the geology of the surface and interior, the atmosphere, and the magnetosphere. Each of the six chapters have been written by authors with a range of expertise so that each chapter is itself multi-disciplinary, comprehensive, and accessible to scientists in all disciplines. These chapters delve into what life needs to exist and ultimately to thrive, the early environments of the young terrestrial planets, the role of volatiles in habitability, currently habitable (but possibly not inhabited) geologic environments, the connection between a planet's inner workings and the habitability of its surface, and the effects on planetary atmospheres of solar evolution and the presence or absence of a magnetosphere. This book serves as an ideal reference for those planning missions that will hunt for biomarkers (especially on Mars), for biologists and geoscientists seeking the other side of the story, and for researchers and upper level students interested in an in-depth review of the geologic evolution of terrestrial planets, from their cores to their magnetospheres, and how that evolution shapes the habitability of the planetary surface.