About the book: 1987 / The book tells "about how the biosphere works and what remains of the biospheres of the geological past.” The fundamental contribution of V.I. Vernadsky to the doctrine of the biosphere and the role of life in geological processes is shown. Much attention is paid to the latest scientific discoveries, in particular the amazing oases of life discovered in the rift zones of the World Ocean at a depth of 1500-3000 m. Author: A. V. LAPO - Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, senior researcher at the All-Union Scientific Research Geological Institute named after A.P. Karpinsky in Leningrad. Specialist in the field of geology of coal deposits, biogeochemistry and general ecology. Author of over 80 scientific papers.