Plate tectonics paradigm

It is perhaps not surprising therefore that an enthusiastic application of the plate tectonic paradigm to Archaean time has delivered mixed results (e.g. see critique by Hamilton 1993, 1998) and, currently, impedes an equally exciting research avenue into what is different about the Archaean Eon and the early Earth , and what this tells us about secular evolution of our planet. A broader view, one naturally promoted by planetary science, is that Earth is just one of several... 

Another example of a paradigm shift is the acceptance of plate tectonics as the explanation for large-scale movements in the Earth s crust. Advances in seismic imaging and observation techniques allowed for the collection of sufficient data to establish plate tectonics as a legitimate geological theory. 

Plate tectonics The paradigm that divides the Earth into about a dozen lithospheric plates that either diverge at midocean ridges, converge at subduction zones or shp past each other. These plate boundaries explain the age of distribution of the oceanic crast, its heat flow and its bathymetry. 

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