Man & the Geosphere

Humankind is under the permanent influence of the geological environment. Roles of some geological biotropic factors, such as volcanic explosions, strong earthquakes, and geochemical anomalies, have been well studied. Little is known about biotropic effects of the Earth''s fluid degassing, geomagnetic activity, natural background radiation, fluid migration and gas emission within fault zones, mild seismicity, cyclicity of tectonic and climatic processes, etc. This book is the first attempt to synthesise the interdisciplinary knowledge on all geogenic factors influencing humans, society, and civilisation. The book consists of two parts. The first part represents the state-of-the-art in the field of geo-bio-interactions. The second part of the book introduces particular examples of the influence of the geological environment on the biosphere and anthroposphere. The scientific intrigue of the book resides in the fact that most geogenic biotropic factors are functions or manifestations of two "meta-agents" -- the deep degassing of the Earth and the geomagnetic field -- which are generated by processes in the liquid outer core.