Margulis L, West O
Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003, USA.
GSA Today. 1993 Nov;3(11):277-80, 291.
The Gaia hypothesis states that the atmosphere, hydrosphere, surface sediments, and life on Earth behave dynamically as a single integrated physiological system. What has been traditionally viewed as the passive environment is a highly active, integral part of the gaian system. Aspects of the surface temperature and chemistry are regulated by the sum of life, the biota. Formulated first by James E. Lovelock, in the late 1960s, the Gaia hypothesis has been in the scientific literature for more than 25 years. Because of its properties of exponential growth and propagation, life is a powerful geologic force. A useful aspect of the Gaia idea is that it requires integration of scientific disciplines for the study of Earth. The recently touted Earth system science is broadly parallel with the gaian concept of the physiochemical regulation of Earth's surface. We discuss here, in a gaian context, the colonization of Mars by Earth organisms. Although colonizing Mars may be impossible, its accomplishment would be exactly equivalent to "the reproduction of Gaia by budding."
盖亚假说指出，地球的大气圈、水圈、地表沉积物以及地球上的生命作为一个单一的综合生理系统动态地运行。传统上被视为被动环境的部分实际上是盖亚系统中高度活跃且不可或缺的一部分。地表温度和化学性质的某些方面是由生命总和（即生物群）调节的。盖亚假说最早由詹姆斯·E·洛夫洛克于20世纪60年代末提出，至今已在科学文献中存在了25年以上。由于生命具有指数增长和传播的特性，它是一种强大的地质力量。盖亚理念的一个有益之处在于，它要求整合多学科来研究地球。最近备受推崇的地球系统科学与盖亚关于地球表面物理化学调节的概念大致并行。我们在此从盖亚的角度讨论地球生物对火星的殖民。虽然殖民火星可能是不可能的，但如果成功，这将完全等同于“盖亚通过出芽进行繁殖”。
