rof Welk: Textbook Chapter 0 (i.e., the chapter titled Introduction) provides an
ID: 116152 • Letter: R
Question
rof Welk: Textbook Chapter 0 (i.e., the chapter titled Introduction) provides an introduction to the world, and the following concerns a major topic concerning the physical world…
Most have heard of the Plate Tectonics theory and many generally know what it deals with, but here’s the theory in a nutshell:
The earth’s crust is divided into numerous independently-moving slabs called plates.
The interactions (collision, separation, or lateral movement) between these plates produce some of the earth’s more notable landforms (i.e., volcanic mountain ranges, folded/faulted mountain ranges, rift valleys, etc.).
The precursor to Plate Tectonics was the Continental Drift theory, yet CD lacked a valid explanation for the moving continents.
The valid explanation came with discoveries made about the sea floor, and thus the development of the Sea Floor Spreading theory, and the SFS theory thus led to the Plate Tectonics theory.
And now for the real interesting part: Did you know that the Sea Floor Spreading and Plate Tectonics theories were developed because of ”accidental discoveries” made from military activities? It's true.
Questions:
What were these specific military activities?
Specifically how did these activities lead to the theories?
Explanation / Answer
there was an ongoing programme to map the surface of oceans from military. it was started with the atlantic ocean.
The Vema, a ship of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, traversed the Atlantic Ocean, recording data about the ocean floor from the ocean surface. A team led by Marie Tharp and Bruce Heezen analyzed the data and concluded that there was an enormous mountain chain running up the middle. Scientists named it the "Mid-Atlantic Ridge".
At first, the ridge was thought to be a phenomenon specific to the Atlantic Ocean. However, as surveys of the ocean floor continued around the world, it was discovered that every ocean contains parts of the mid-ocean ridge system. Although the ridge system runs down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the ridge is located away from the center of other oceans.
which gave rise to the theory of plate tectonics as now we had a proof that oceanic plates were spreading.
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