Geological Evolution of a Habitable Planet

Discussion on the physical prerequisites to simple and complex life. Evolution of the earth and the solar system: the first 500 million years; stabilization of the earth system and structuring of Earth in interconnected 'spheres'; birth of modern plate tectonics and the carbon cycle; description of the long-term carbon cycle and of the Earth's natural thermostat; how does the earth keep liquid water on its surface? Climate variability and extreme climates compared: snowball Earth and the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum. Birth of oxygen: the Great Oxygenation Event and the Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event. Earth's magnetic field and its shielding effects on the Earth's hydrosphere and atmosphere. Catastrophism as the engine of evolution: the K/T boundary limit and the P / T boundary. Evolution and history of the human species. Final discussions: from chondrites to the Anthropocene.