Cochise College Student Papers in Geology
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Roger Weller, geology instructor
Tectonics
John Wheeler
Physical Geology
Fall 2005
The Theory of the Expanding
Earth
In the world of science, ideas are proven and dis-proven every day. Ideas about
the Earth have arguably been some of the most controversially argued concepts.
From Columbus’s theory that said the Earth was round to Copernicus’s
heliocentric model of our solar system with the sun in the center and not the
Earth. Now there is a theory which was actively worked on called the expanding
Earth theory. This theory started around the late 1800’s and was heavily
introduced to the geological community by Professor S. Warren Carey from
Tasmania. And some information currently in the works by retired U.S. Naval
Commander Lawrence S. Myers.
One of the goals of the Expanding Earth theory was to dis-prove the idea of
subduction. The first idea given was for subduction to be true the Pacific
basin would have to be reducing in size while the Atlantic would be increasing
at a rate of 2-4 cm per year. Saying this would mean the Pacific Ocean is
doomed to disappear if the Earth stayed the same size. For subduction to be
valid, another 8-16 cm. a year of East Pacific Rise growth, the greatest rate of
new seafloor growth on the planet, also must be swallowed for a total subduction
rate of 10-20 cm. per year. These rates are going to have to be equivalent in
the Indian and Antarctic Oceans.
http://www.expanding-earth.org/
Many of the supporters of the Expanding Earth theory say that for every proof
which is provided for subduction allows for another proof of an inconsistent
size in the Earth. The goal of any individual proving there theory is to remove
doubt. For the believers of the Expanding Earth theory, plate tectonics and
subduction has too many questions still left to be answered.
Next, accurate proof of the Expanding Earth theory has to be
shown. The main idea was to show that the size of the Earth was increasing.
http://www.grisda.org/origins/15053.htm
This theory states that the Earth started as one land mass which eventually broke up. This idea eliminates other ideas of land bridges or other ideas on how various animals end up on different landmasses they do not normally belong such as a fossil’s of rhino’s ending up in North America. Another possible piece of evidence is the rotation of the Earth not being steady. Every once in a while astronomers have to add time to our clocks to make up for a rotation which is not continuous. Other proof is that of the relatively young age of the ocean floor. The expanding earth provides a natural explanation: the ocean floors are just the new surface that has emerged during the expansion process. With the plate-tectonic model, it is presumed this is because older oceanic crust has been subducted. So an area equivalent to the Pacific Ocean is usually assumed to have been subducted under the Americas since the Jurassic with no debris or remnants of older oceanic crust left behind.
http://www.expanding-earth.org/
Now for every individual trying to prove a theory there is someone to disprove
it. The Expanding Earth Theory has numerous things which people use to disclaim
its theories. A natural question is, how do mountains form on an expanding
earth? In the context of plate tectonics, mountains are understood to be the
consequence of colliding plates. But colliding plates would not be expected to
be a prominent feature of an expanding earth. But the main problems associated
with the expanding earth are the mechanism of expansion and some of the
consequences associated with some of the most commonly suggested mechanisms.
The most frequently mentioned mechanism is a structural or a chemical phase
change that involves an increase in volume with constant mass. The development
of ice from liquid water, for example, involves a structural change in which
there is an increase in volume. This could be occurring at the core/mantle
interface. In this process the mass of the earth would remain essentially
constant while its volume is increased. Consequently, if the radius of the earth
doubled, the force due to gravity on the surface of the earth would now be only
one fourth of what it was prior to the expansion. But paleogravity studies
indicate that the force of gravity has never been significantly greater than it
is now. One of the greatest ideas that are put into question is that matter
would have to be continuously created because of the earth expanding.
There is ideas conceived everyday about the way our planet operates. These ideas should never be thrown away without looking at them again. Usually ideas are disproved because there are too many holes in the theory. Another look could always fill those holes and give light to other possibilities.
A special
thanks goes to
Lawrence S. Myers
Commander, U. S. Navy Ret.
http://www.expanding-earth.org/
And also thanks to Bill Mundy, Professor of Physics at Pacific Union
http://www.grisda.org/origins/15053.htm