-
Abraham Gottlob Werner
He proposed the theory of neptunism in the field of geology and in the first systematic classifications of minerals. -
James Hutton
He published a book called "Theory of the Earth", in which he proposed the Earth as a dynamic system immersed in a continuous cycle of elevation of mountains as a result of the planet's internal heat and the erosion and sedimentation of the materials that form them. -
Charles Lyell
He developed the Theory of Uniformity, which said that all processes that change on Earth in the present, have done it identically in the past. -
Eduard Suess
He is responsible for the discovery of the supercontinent Gondwana and the Tethys Ocean. -
Alfred Wegener
Wegener developed the theory of continental drift, in which he said that the continets were moving on another denser layer of the Earth. -
Arthur Holmes
He pioneered the use of radiometric mineral dating, and was the first scientist to understand the mechanical and thermal implications of mantle convection, which ultimately led to the acceptance of plate tectonics. -
Marie Tharp
Together with Bruce Heezen, she created the first scientific map of the entire ocean floor. The work of Tharp showed the existence of the mid-Atlantic dorsal and revolutionized the scientific understanding of continental drift. -
Harry Hammond Hess
Harry Hess developed the idea that the seafloor moves, and drags the continents with it, while expanding from a central axis. -
John Tuzo Wilson
Tuzo Wilson proposed that plates might move over fixed ‘hotspots’ in the mantle, forming volcanic island chains. Two years after, he followed this discovery with the idea of a third type of plate boundary: transform faults. Transform faults were regarded as the missing piece in the puzzle of plate tectonic theory. -
Dan Mckenzie
He published a study called "The viscosity of the lower mantle" in which he suggested that there are two layers in the mantle, each of which is in motion, controlling the movement and behavior of the tectonic plates above.
