Abstract
THE discussion1 by Dr. C. H. Barnett and Sir Harold Jeffreys calls for comment. First, the original suggestion that the Earth might be expanding, on the basis of experimental fit of the 200-m depth contours of the continental shelves, was made by O. C. Hilgenberg in 19332. Further, Sir Harold Jeffreys's objection that there is too much implied distortion can be met. The pseudo- viscosity of the crust3,4 and observed distortion by shear5,6 would lead one to expect continental distortion in any event; and the outline of the continental margins may have changed in geological time, by accretion of the continents7,8, by loss of continental crust9, or both.
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References
Barnett, C. H., and Jeffreys, H., Nature, 195, 447 (1962).
Hilgenberg, O. C. (published by the author, Berlin, 1933).
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Beloussov, V. V., Sovetskaya Geologiya, 7, 3 (1960).
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DENNIS, J. Fitting the Continents. Nature 196, 364 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1038/196364a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/196364a0
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