Toward Permanence Yet Unattainable: A Thermodynamic Interpretive Framework for the Evolution of Planetary Surface Systems

Abstract

The second law of thermodynamics dictates that isolated systems undergo monotonic entropy increase, tending toward disorder and homogeneity. However, over 4 billion years of Earth's stratigraphic and paleontological records, planetary surface open systems have persistently exhibited directional evolution characterized by material complexification and hierarchical ecosystem upgrading. This apparent contradiction has long remained unresolved. This paper proposes the "Toward Permanence Yet Unattainable" thermodynamic interpretive framework to reconcile this conflict. We define that within planetary surface open systems receiving continuous solar and geothermal energy inputs, all ordered material structures are passively driven by non-equilibrium thermodynamic mechanisms to asymptotically approach longer persistence durations, with "absolute eternal persistence" serving as a theoretical unattainable limit. Continuous irreversible entropy production imposes a rigid constraint, rendering this limit forever unreachable, and the system can only follow a closed-loop iterative cycle of "approach → entropy-accumulation failure → material reorganization → re-approach." This framework introduces the concept of an unattainable limit, establishing an isomorphic physical limit paradigm alongside absolute zero and the speed of light. The framework is quantitatively coupled with the Fireball-Spherical Cycle (FSC) Earth system model: the entire chain of wildfire-driven nutrient inputs, algal bloom enrichment, terrestrial ecological screening, and multiple mass extinction–recovery episodes can be mapped onto the complete iterative dynamics of the framework. This paper provides quantifiable stratigraphic and geochemical falsification criteria, offers underlying thermodynamic support for the FSC model, and fills the interdisciplinary gap between non-equilibrium thermodynamics and deep-time Earth evolution.