Die Entwicklung der Erdrinde

The key and the well established basis for our present understanding of the evolution of the earth's lithosphere is the continous creation of new oceanic lithosphere in the mid oceanic ridge system. Paleomagnetic evidence and the concept of global plate tectonics permit a quantitative reconstruction of the kinematic history of the lithosphere for the past 200 m.y. This leads to continent configurations very similar to those proposed by A. Wegener. Plate tectonic processes can be traced back until Precambrian times. Before that, due to the generally higher temperature of the earth, the evolution was apparently governed by different processes. Thermal convection and gravitational instabilities are considered as driving forces for the lithosphere.     

Die Entwicklung der Erdatmosphäre und ihre Wechselbeziehung zur Entwicklung der Sedimente und des Lebens

The formation of the atmosphere-together with that of the oceans and sediments-was determined by three important processes: the loss of noble gases and volatiles in the solar nebula, the enrichment of these substances at the Earth's surface by exhalation from the Earth's mantle, and finally the formation of the hydrosphere, enabled by-in contrast to our neighboring planets-a suitable distance from the sun. In this way the development of the atmospheric gases N₂, H₂O and CO₂ was largely fixed. Oxygen, on the other hand, appeared late in the atmosphere. It originated from biological photosynthesis which apparently developed rather early in the Earth's history but lead at first only to oxidation of iron and sulfur. The subsequently occurring accumulation of free oxygen in the atmosphere resulted in interesting interrelations with the development of life.