If there's such a thing as Gaia--if Earth's biosphere really is a self -sustaining meta-organism--then it must have something like a physiology. What does this consist of? What are the systems, processes and functions that make it work? Gaia's Body looks at the biogeographical regions, essential substances, and great chemical cycles that underlie the living system that is earth's biosphere. This is the book that puts Gaia theory on a firm scientific foundation.

Klappentext

If the biosphere really is a single coherent system, then it must have something like a physiology. It must have systems and processes that perform living functions. In Gaia's Body, Tyler Volk describes the environment that enables the biosphere to exist, various ways of looking at its "anatomy" and "physiology", the major biogeographical regions such as rainforests, deserts, and tundra, the major substances the biosphere is made of, and the chemical cycles that keep it in balance. He then looks at the question of whether there are any long-term trends in the earth's evolution, and examines the role of humanity in Gaia's past and future. Both adherents and sceptics have often been concerned that Gaia theory contains too much goddess and too few verifiable hypotheses. This is the book that describes, for scientists, students, and lay readers alike, the theory's firm basis in science.

Inhalt

1 Breathing of the Biosphere.- 2 A Global Holarchy.- 3 Outer Light, Inner Fire.- 4 The Parts of Gaia.- 5 Worldwide Metabolisms.- 6 Embodied Energy.- 7 The Music of This Sphere.- 8 Gaia in Time.