1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910790352103321

Autore

Frankel Henry R. <1944->

Titolo

The continental drift controversy . Volume 4 Evolution into plate tectonics / / Henry R. Frankel [[electronic resource]]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2012

ISBN

1-139-36630-0

1-107-23119-1

1-280-77361-8

9786613684387

1-139-37889-9

1-139-09593-5

1-139-37603-9

1-139-37204-1

1-139-37746-9

1-139-38032-X

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xix, 675 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Disciplina

551.1/36

Soggetti

Continental drift - Research - History - 20th century

Academic disputations - History - 20th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di contenuto

Cover; THE CONTINENTAL DRIFT CONTROVERSY; Dedication; Title; Copyright; Index

Sommario/riassunto

Resolution of the sixty-year debate over continental drift, culminating in the triumph of plate tectonics, changed the very fabric of Earth science. This four-volume treatise on the continental drift controversy is the first complete history of the origin, debate and gradual acceptance of this revolutionary theory. Based on extensive interviews, archival papers and original works, Frankel weaves together the lives and work of the scientists involved, producing an accessible narrative for scientists and non-scientists alike. This fourth volume explains the discoveries in the mid 1960s which led to the rapid acceptance of seafloor spreading theory and how birth of plate tectonics followed



soon after with the geometrification of geology. Although plate tectonics did not explain the cause or dynamic mechanism of drifting continents, it provided a convincing kinematic explanation that continues to inspire geodynamic research to the present day.