0 the study of how the surface of the earth is formed, how the separate pieces of it move, and the effects of this movement --
1 the theory that the earth's surface is made of large layers of rock that are always moving, causing earthquakes and volcanoes, and explaining the creation of the varied features of the earth's surface --
The third chapter introduces plate tectonics in a thoroughly confusing way.
This was confirmed by palaeomagnetic research almost 34 years later, once the theory of plate tectonics had been firmly established.
Particularly provoking is a chapter on future plate tectonics with scenarios for time periods from +50 to +200 million years ahead.
The issues under discussion have evolved not analogous to plate tectonics in a slow, orderly pattern, but more like a volcanic explosion.
The last six chapters cover more advanced topics: rheological models, brittle failure, strain measurement, balanced cross sections, deformation mechanisms, and the geometry of plate tectonics.
There are a number of exercises new to this edition using the new technology outlined above to illustrate concepts associated with plate tectonics.
A third choice would be to focus on the time before plate tectonics, a time that is poorly understood and hard to specify.
In this paper we speculate on how plate tectonics influences surface mineralogy, and identify three examples which could influence the development of life.
