Rarity of Plate Tectonics as an Explanation for Missing Extraterrestrial Civilizations

[Oxytropidoceras]

The Key Role of Plate Tectonics for Accelerating the Evolution

of Complex Life: Quest for the Missing Extraterrestrial Civilizations

by Taras Gerya and Robert Stern, EGU 2023

 

#EGU23 PC3 Humans, hominoids and extraterrestials

 Time interval in video: 2:00 - 7:20

 

Basic premises:

 

1. Civilizations can only be expected on planets with oceans, continents, and plate tectonics

 

2. Such planets most likely form a very small (<<1 percent) of habitable planets with primitive life

 

Co-Evolution of Life and Plate Tectonics #gsa2021 #utdgss

 

Another lecture that touches on this is "Segmentation of subducting

slabs and its implication for the onset of modern plate tectonics"

by Dr. Taras Gerya." It will eventually be posted to "Virtual Seminar

in Precambrian Geology"

 

Yours,

 

Paul H.

 

Edited October 12, 2023 by Oxytropidoceras
typos

[grandpa]

This is all, in MHO, pretty speculative "science".  The "first principle" assumptions accepted here need to be questioned, me thinks.  The human perspective on what is "life" might not be a bad place to start; the concept of "Civilization" next.  We perhaps are too myopic and self-limited in our vision.  "Complex life" may be (likely is) much more varied than we conceive.  As Carl Sagan is quoted as saying:  "If we are the only intelligent life in the universe, the rest of the universe sure is a huge waste of real estate" (or something close to that),