Lecture - How the Data Shape our Ideas

The concept of plate tectonics is most easily demonstrated by plotting a few maps from data that can be downloaded on the web in a few seconds (an exercise we will undertake as part of this course).

However, these rich datasets are a relatively recent luxury and we actually learn a great deal more about the Earth if we reconstruct some of the arguments for plate tectonics that were made in the absence of strong evidence.

It also helps to think about some of the theories that are equally plausible when the data are sparse.

Please be aware that we are not pretending to give you an accurate history of the subject, just a few reasons to appreciate how much thought went into the earliest papers on Plate Tectonics.