The contracting Earth theory, also called geophysical global cooling, was a nineteenth century geological theory associated with James Dwight Dana that predated plate tectonics. It held that the Earth had originally been molten and that mountains and other crustal features formed as the planet's interior cooled and its volume shrank, forcing the rigid outer crust to crumple. That crumpling of the shrinking crust was offered as the mechanism producing mountain ranges.
Facts
Origin YearElaborated at greater length in his Notice sur le systeme des montagnes (3 volumes, 1852); 1829, the year of first proposal to the Academy of Sciences, is recorded here. Connections
Associated With
Source Contracting Earth Theory (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Jean-Baptiste Élie de Beaumont (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationArticle textQuote, Article text
Élie de Beaumont's name is widely known to geologists in connection with his theory of the origin of mountain ranges, first propounded in a paper read to the Academy of Sciences in 1829, and afterwards elaborated in his Notice sur le système des montagnes (3 volumes, 1852).
Contracting Earth Theory (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Eduard Suess, Application section, paragraph on Suess and the 1908 Messina earthquakeQuote, Associated With: Eduard Suess, Application section, paragraph on Suess and the 1908 Messina earthquake
In the early 1900s, Professor Eduard Suess used the theory to explain the 1908 Messina earthquake, being of the opinion that the Earth's crust was gradually shrinking everywhere.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.