The Expanding Earth

Book excerpt: Developments in Geotectonics, 10: The Expanding Earth focuses on the principles, methodologies, transformations, and approaches involved in the expanding earth concept. The book first elaborates on the development of the expanding earth concept, necessity for expansion, and the subduction myth. Discussions focus on higher velocity under Benioff zone, seismic attenuation, blue schists and paired metamorphic belts, dispersion of polygons, arctic paradox, and kinematic contrast. The manuscript then ponders on the scale of tectonic phenomena, non-uniformitarianism, tectonic profiles, and paleomagnetism. Concerns cover global paleomagnetism, general summary of the tectonic profile, implosions, fluid pressures, pure shear, crustal extension, simple shear with horizontal axis, geological examples of scale fields, and length-time fields of deformation. The publication explores the cause of expansion, modes of crustal extension, and rotation and asymmetry of the earth, including dynamic asymmetry, precessions, nutations, librations, and wobbles at fixed obliquity, variation of rate of rotation, and categories of submarine ridges. The text is a dependable source of data for researchers wanting to study the concept of expanding earth.