The Continental Drift Controversy: Evolution into Plate Tectonics (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781107019942)

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.
Other volumes in this set: Volume 1: Wegener and the Early Debate Volume 2: Paleomagnetism and Confirmation of Drift Volume 3: Introduction of Seafloor Spreading 4 Volume Set

Author: Henry R. Frankel
ISBN-10: 110701994X
ISBN-13: 9781107019942
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 04/26/2012
Pages: 796
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 3.30lbs
Size: 9.80h x 6.90w x 1.40d