Èrshí shìjì liùshí niándài tíchū de hǎidǐ kuòzhāng shuō gǎibiàn le dìzhìxué.
The theory of seafloor spreading proposed in the 1960s transformed geology.
Tips
history
Proposed by Harry Hess (赫斯 Hèsī) in 1962, seafloor spreading explains how new oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges and recycled at subduction zones. It revived and confirmed Wegener's earlier 大陆漂移说 (continental drift theory) and led to modern plate tectonics.
memory
说 (shuō) at the end of a scientific term means 'theory / hypothesis' — same pattern as 进化论 (theory of evolution, with 论 instead). 海底 'sea-bottom' + 扩张 'expand' = 'seafloor expansion' = seafloor spreading.
