Leibniz (1691) wrote that the Earth has cooled down from a liquid state. Dana (1843-1873) described oceanic subsidence and mountain-building as results of the thermal contraction of the Earth. Lyell suggested that, due to unequal cooling, parts of the Earth sink faster than the rest, so that continents of the past have become ocean floors today and vice versa. Suess (1885, Vol. 1, p. 778) said that “the collapse of the world is what we are witnessing”. This paper reviews the Contracting Earth Theory.
INTRODUCTION
The Contracting Earth Hypothesis was once a dominant paradigm in geology (Wegener, 1929). The origins of this theory can be found in the works of European scientists such as Constant Prévost [d.1856], Henry de la Beche [d.1855] and Léonce Élie de Beaumont [d.1874] (Greene, 1982). James Dwight Dana [d. 1895], an American geologist, was a key contributor to the development of this theory. The Contraction Hypothesis did not completely fall out of favor until the Plate Tectonics appeared: Hans Stille [d.1966] and Leopold Kober [d.1970] were prominent advocates of this theory (Pamir, 1960). However, from early 20th century on, it competed with another global geological theory: the Continental Drift of Alfred Wegener, which can be considered a precursor of the Plate Tectonics. In this paper, we discuss the Contracting Earth Hypothesis with a literature review and compare it to the Continental Drift.
The Contraction Theory supposes the interior of the Earth to be diminishing in size as a result of cooling, which then puts the rigid crust under stress and leads to tectonic motions. A simple illustration of this process is seen in an apple that is drying up and wrinkling [originally, C. Prévost’s idea (Greene, 1982)]. This theor...
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...e: Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France, 1(4), p. 723-825.
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The area composed of the Gander, Nashoba, Avalon, and Meguma Terranes has been extensively studied for many years. However, it was only recently that the terranes were recognized as distinct geologic entities with unique tectonic histories thus there is still much debate regarding the tectonic model which brought these terranes together (Hon et al., 2007). This paper will address the geology of the peri-Gondwanan terranes and propose a potential tectonic model for the accretional orogenic events. It will also primarily focus on the juxtaposition between the Nashoba and Avalon Terranes.
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Earthquakes are a natural part of the Earth’s evolution. Scientific evidence leads many geologists to believe that all of the land on Earth was at one point in time connected. Because of plate tectonic movements or earthquakes, continental drift occurred separating the one massive piece of land in to the seven major continents today. Further evidence supports this theory, starting with the Mid-Atlantic ridge, a large mass of plate tectonics, which are increasing the size of the Atlantic Ocean while shrinking the Pacific. Some scientists believe that the major plate moveme...
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