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As space shuttles zip into orbit and telescopes peer out at other worlds, Earth itself remains a mystery in many basic ways.
In an attempt to remedy that, a panel of geologists and planetary scientists announced this week the top 10 questions about our planet that linger today, which have strangely baffled humanity and researchers for hundreds of years and longer.
"We have to look to the past and ask deeper fundamental questions about the origins of the Earth and life, the structure and dynamics of planets, and the connections between life and climate, for example," said panel chairman Donald DePaolo, a University of California at Berkeley geochemist.
The panel canvassed geologists and deliberated at length to arrive at the focus on these questions:
1: How did Earth and other planets form?
Scientists are perplexed by how and why the planets formed into such distinct bodies, with only our rocky orb supporting life （as far as we know）.
2: What happened during Earth's "Dark Age," or the first 500 million years after it formed?
Understanding Earth's early development would explain how the atmosphere and oceans developed. One difficulty: Few rocks from then are preserved, meaning little concrete evidence.
3: How did life begin?
In addition to rocks and minerals here, scientists are also probing Mars, where the sedimentary record of early planetary history predates the oldest Earth rocks.
4: How does Earth's interior work, and how does it affect the surface?
Scientists want to figure out more about the past and future of the constant convective motion of Earth's mantle and core, which triggers volcanism, mountain building and seafloor formation.
5: Why does Earth have plate tectonics and continents?
Scientists wonder why Earth has plates, constantly on the move, and how closely tectonics are related to the abundance of water, continents, oceans and life.
6: How are Earth processes controlled by material properties?
The big movers and shakers on Earth, including plate tectonics, arise from the atomic structure and other properties of Earth materials, so scientists want to know more about these properties.
7: What causes climate to change – and how much can it change?
Deeper study of the history of Earth's climate could help scientists predict the magnitude and consequences of today's climate change.
8: How has life shaped Earth – and how has Earth shaped life?
The interactions between geology and biology are key to understanding life's role in injecting oxygen into the atmosphere, mass extinctions and the course of evolution.
9: Can earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and their consequences be predicted?
Scientists still don't know how fault ruptures start and stop, and how magma moves beneath Earth's surface.
10: How do fluid flow and transport affect the human environment?
Scientists are unclear about how fluids move underground. More knowledge about this will help with management of natural resources and the environment.
The report was requested by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey and NASA.
就在航天飞机被射入轨道，望远镜窥探别的世界的时候，地球本身在很多基本方面依然是一个谜团。
作为解决这个问题的尝试之一，一个有地质学家和行星学家组成的小组本周宣布了地球至今悬而未决的10大问题。这些问题已经奇怪地困扰了人类好几百年，对研究者而言，时间还要更长。
"我们必须回顾过去，在诸如地球和生命的起源、行星的结构和动力学，以及生命与气候的关联等方面提出更加深刻的根本性问题。"加州大学伯克利分校地球化学家、小组主席唐纳德德保罗说。
小组寻求了地质学家们的意见，经过深入充分的分析和考虑之后，总结出来下列问题：
1、地球以及其它行星是如何形成的？
科学家疑惑不解行星如何以及为何会成长为一个个如此独特的天体，而只有我们脚下的大石球才能支持生命（仅就目前所知）.
2、地球的"黑暗时代",或者说形成后5亿年内发生了什么？
了解地球的早期演化可以解释大气层和海洋的发展变化。难点是：当时的岩石很少有留到现在的，这意味着缺乏具体的证据。
3、生命是如何起源的？
科学家不光在探测地球上的岩石和矿物，还在探测火星�；鹦巧系男乔蛟缙诔粱锉鹊厍蛏献罾系难沂挂纭�
4、地球内部是如何运行的，又是如何影响地表的？
科学家希望对地幔及地核恒久不变的流动的过去和未来有更多了解，正是这种运动触发了火山活动、造山运动和海床的形成。
5、地球为什么会有板块和大陆？
科学家希望知道为什么地球会有不断运动着的板块，以及地质构造与水量、大陆、海洋和生命的联系有多紧密。
6、物质的性质是如何控制地球的演进过程的？
地球上规模巨大的运动和变化，包括板块漂移，无一不可归因于地球物质的原子结构和其他性质，因此科学家希望更加了解这些性质。
7、什么引起了气候的变化--变化的规模能有多大？
对地球气候史的深入研究可以帮助科学家预测当前气候变化的规模和后果。
8、生命如何塑造了地球--地球又如何塑造了生命？
地质学和生物学的交汇是了解生命在向大气注氧的过程中起到的作用、大规模灭绝和进化历程等问题的关键。
9、地震、火山爆发及其后果可以被预测么？
科学家们依然不了解断层断裂是怎么发生和结束的，岩浆又是如何在地下运行的。
10、液体的流动和搬运作用怎样影响了人类的环境？
科学家们不了解液体怎样在地下流动。这方面更多的了解有助于管理控制自然资源和环境。
该报告乃是应美国能源部、国家科学基金会、美国地质调查局和国家航空航天局的要求而编制。
