Abstract:Abstract In 1960, almost no one believed in the idea of continental drift—that the continents move across the face of the Earth. Within a decade, a complete shift of opinion had occurred: continental ...Abstract In 1960, almost no one believed in the idea of continental drift—that the continents move across the face of the Earth. Within a decade, a complete shift of opinion had occurred: continental drift, or plate tectonics, as it was by then called, had become almost universally accepted. Central to this revolution in the Earth sciences was a speculative proposal by two young geophysicists that explained how magnetic stripes on the sea floor are produced. The general acceptance of continental drift and plate tectonics has dominated later research in many areas; indeed, it is largely responsible for the emergence of the new discipline of Earth science from the fusion of fields such as geology, geophysics, paleontology, petrology, and geochemistry. Despite the overwhelming acceptance of plate tectonics, a number of important problems remain poorly understood.Read More
Publication Year: 2003
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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