The Biosphere

Long unknown in the West, **The Biosphere** established the field of biogeochemistry and is one of the classic founding documents of what later became known as Gaia theory. It is the first sustained expression of the idea that life is a geological force that can change Earth's landforms, its climate, and even the contents of its atmosphere. A complete, unabridged translation has never before been available in English. This edition - complete with extensive annotations, an introductory essay placing the work in its historical context and explaining its relevance to readers today, and a foreword cosigned by a stellar group of international experts - will be the definitive edition of this classic work. "What Darwin did for life through time, Vernadsky did for life through space on a geological scale". Front Matter....Pages n1-41 Front Matter....Pages 42-42 The Biosphere in the Cosmic Medium....Pages 43-47 The Biosphere as a Region of Transformation of Cosmic Energy....Pages 47-51 The Empirical Generalization and the Hypothesis....Pages 51-56 Living Matter in the Biosphere....Pages 56-60 The Multiplication of Organisms and Geochemical Energy in Living Matter....Pages 60-72 Photosynthetic Living Matter....Pages 72-84 Some Remarks on Living Matter in the Mechanism of the Biosphere....Pages 85-89 Front Matter....Pages 93-93 The Biosphere: An Envelope of the Earth....Pages 91-102 Living Matter of the First and Second Orders in the Biosphere....Pages 103-113 The Limits of Life....Pages 113-117 The Limits of Life in the Biosphere....Pages 117-125 Life in the Hydrosphere....Pages 126-134 Geochemical Cycles of the Living Concentrations and Films of the Hydrosphere....Pages 134-142 Living Matter on Land....Pages 142-148 The Relationship Between the Living Films and Concentrations of the Hydrosphere and Those of Land....Pages 148-150 Back Matter....Pages 151-195 "Vladimir Vernadsky was a brilliant and prescient scholar-a true scientific visionary who saw the deep connections between life on Earth and the rest of the planet and understood the profound implications for life as a cosmic phenomenon."