Water Worlds in the Solar System: In Search of Habitable Environments and Life is a comprehensive reference on the formation, availability, habitability potential, and astrobiological implications of water in the Solar System. The book provides understanding of the importance of water on Earth to elucidate potential water and biosignature sources on other bodies in the Solar System. It covers processes involved in the formation of Earth and its Moon, genesis of water on those bodies, events on early Earth, and other processes that are applicable to celestial bodies in the Solar System, directly correlating data available on water on other bodies to over 15 Earth analogue sites.
This book forms a comprehensive overview on water in the Solar System, from formation to biosignature and habitability considerations. It is ideal for academics, researchers and students working in the field of planetary science, extraterrestrial water research and habitability potential.
1. Cover image - p. i 2. Title page - p. ii 3. Table of Contents - p. iii 4. Copyright - p. iii 5. Dedication - p. iii 6. Contents - p. iii 7. Foreword - p. iii 8. Preface - p. iii 9. Acknowledgments - p. iii 10. List of Illustrations - p. iii 11. Chapter 1: Solar/planetary formation and evolution - p. iii 12. Chapter 2: Geological timeline of significant events on Earth - p. iii 13. Chapter 3: Beginnings of life on Earth - p. iii 14. Chapter 4: Biosignatures—The prime targets in the search for life beyond Earth - p. iii 15. Chapter 5: Extremophiles—Organisms that survive and thrive in extreme environmental conditions - p. iii 16. Chapter 6: Salinity tolerance of inhabitants in thalassic and athalassic saline and hypersaline waters & salt flats - p. iii 17. Chapter 7: Terrestrial analogs & submarine hydrothermal vents—their roles in exploring ocean worlds, habitability, and life beyond earth - p. iii 18. Chapter 8: Surface environment evolution for Venus, Earth, and Mars—the planets which began with the same inventory of elements - p. iii 19. Chapter 9: Lunar explorations—Discovering water, minerals, and underground caves and tunnel complexes - p. iii 20. Chapter 10: Liquid water lake under ice in Mars’s southern hemisphere—Possibility of subsurface biosphere and life - p. iii 21. Chapter 11: Could near-Earth watery asteroid Ceres be a likely ocean world and habitable? - p. iii 22. Chapter 12: An ocean and volcanic seafloor hiding below the icy crust of Jupiter’s Moon Europa—Plumes of water vapor rising over 160 km above its surface - p. iii 23. Chapter 13: Salty ocean and submarine hydrothermal vents on Saturn’s Moon Enceladus—Tall plume of gas, jets of water vapor & organic-enriched ice particles spewing from its south pole - p. iii 24. Chapter 14: Hydrocarbon lakes and seas & internal ocean on Titan—Resemblance with primitive earth’s prebiotic chemistry - p. iii 25. Chapter 15: A likely ocean world fostering a rare mixing of CO and N2 ice molecules on Neptune’s Moon Triton - p. iii 26. Chapter 16: Subsurface ocean of liquid water on Pluto - p. iii 27. Chapter 17: Hunting for environments favorable to life on planets, moons, dwarf planets, and meteorites - p. iii 28. Chemical names and their chemical formulae - p. iii 29. Water Worlds in the Solar System: Exploring Prospects of Extraterrestrial Habitability & Life - p. iii 30. Definition/Meaning - p. iii 31. Index - p. iii
Water Worlds in the Solar System: In Search of Habitable Environments and Life is a comprehensive reference on the formation, availability, habitability potential, and astrobiological implications of water in the Solar System. The book provides understanding of the importance of water on Earth to elucidate potential water and biosignature sources on other bodies in the Solar System. It covers processes involved in the formation of Earth and its Moon, genesis of water on those bodies, events on early Earth, and other processes that are applicable to celestial bodies in the Solar System, directly correlating data available on water on other bodies to over 15 Earth analogue sites.
This book forms a comprehensive overview on water in the Solar System, from formation to biosignature and habitability considerations. It is ideal for academics, researchers and students working in the field of planetary science, extraterrestrial water research and habitability potential.
1. Cover image - p. i 2. Title page - p. ii 3. Table of Contents - p. iii 4. Copyright - p. iii 5. Dedication - p. iii 6. Contents - p. iii 7. Foreword - p. iii 8. Preface - p. iii 9. Acknowledgments - p. iii 10. List of Illustrations - p. iii 11. Chapter 1: Solar/planetary formation and evolution - p. iii 12. Chapter 2: Geological timeline of significant events on Earth - p. iii 13. Chapter 3: Beginnings of life on Earth - p. iii 14. Chapter 4: Biosignatures—The prime targets in the search for life beyond Earth - p. iii 15. Chapter 5: Extremophiles—Organisms that survive and thrive in extreme environmental conditions - p. iii 16. Chapter 6: Salinity tolerance of inhabitants in thalassic and athalassic saline and hypersaline waters & salt flats - p. iii 17. Chapter 7: Terrestrial analogs & submarine hydrothermal vents—their roles in exploring ocean worlds, habitability, and life beyond earth - p. iii 18. Chapter 8: Surface environment evolution for Venus, Earth, and Mars—the planets which began with the same inventory of elements - p. iii 19. Chapter 9: Lunar explorations—Discovering water, minerals, and underground caves and tunnel complexes - p. iii 20. Chapter 10: Liquid water lake under ice in Mars’s southern hemisphere—Possibility of subsurface biosphere and life - p. iii 21. Chapter 11: Could near-Earth watery asteroid Ceres be a likely ocean world and habitable? - p. iii 22. Chapter 12: An ocean and volcanic seafloor hiding below the icy crust of Jupiter’s Moon Europa—Plumes of water vapor rising over 160 km above its surface - p. iii 23. Chapter 13: Salty ocean and submarine hydrothermal vents on Saturn’s Moon Enceladus—Tall plume of gas, jets of water vapor & organic-enriched ice particles spewing from its south pole - p. iii 24. Chapter 14: Hydrocarbon lakes and seas & internal ocean on Titan—Resemblance with primitive earth’s prebiotic chemistry - p. iii 25. Chapter 15: A likely ocean world fostering a rare mixing of CO and N2 ice molecules on Neptune’s Moon Triton - p. iii 26. Chapter 16: Subsurface ocean of liquid water on Pluto - p. iii 27. Chapter 17: Hunting for environments favorable to life on planets, moons, dwarf planets, and meteorites - p. iii 28. Chemical names and their chemical formulae - p. iii 29. Water Worlds in the Solar System: Exploring Prospects of Extraterrestrial Habitability & Life - p. iii 30. Definition/Meaning - p. iii 31. Index - p. iii
