Planetary Crusts Their Composition, Origin and Evolution Cambridge Planetary Science Series

Planetary Crusts explains how and why solid planets and satellites develop crusts. Extensively referenced and annotated, it presents a geochemical and geological survey of the crusts of the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, the asteroid Vesta, and several satellites like Io, Europa, Ganymede, Titan and Callisto. After describing the nature and formation of solar system bodies, the book presents a comparative investigation of different planetary crusts and discusses many crustal controversies. The authors propose the theory of stochastic processes dominating crustal development, and debate the possibility of Earth-like planets existing elsewhere in the cosmos. Written by two leading authorities on the subject, this book presents an extensive survey of the scientific problems of crustal development, and is a key reference for researchers and students in geology, geochemistry, planetary science, astrobiology and astronomy.

Preface; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Prologue; Notes and references; 1. The planets: their formation and differentiation; 2. A primary crust: the highland crust of the Moon; 3. A secondary crust: the lunar maria; 4. Mercury; 5. Mars: early differentiation and planetary composition; 6. Mars: crustal composition and evolution; 7. Venus: a twin planet to Earth?; 8. The oceanic crust of the Earth; 9. The Hadean crust of the Earth; 10. The Archean crust of the Earth; 11. The post-Archean continental crust; 12. Composition and evolution of the continental crust; 13. Crusts on minor bodies; 14. Reflections: the elusive patterns of planetary crusts; Indexes.