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Theories Regarding Movement of Earth's Crust
Theories Regarding Movement of Earth's Crust
NT No. 2
(Theories Regarding the
Movement of Earths Crust)
SCI -11
Hapgood claimed that towards the end of the last ice age,
around 12,000 years ago, the extensive mass of glacial ice
covering the northern continents caused the lithosphere to slip
over the asthenosphere, moving Antarctica, during a period of
at most several centuries, from a position in the middle
latitudes to its current location, and at the same time rotating
the other continents. Antarcticas movement to the polar region
precipitated the development of its ice cap. Similarly, by
shifting the northern ice sheets out of the arctic zone, the end
of the ice age was facilitated. The claim is that the great buildup of ice in the northern hemisphere was not situated
symmetrically, and that as the earth rotated on its axis, this
imbalance caused the lithosphere to slip catastrophically, as
Hancock states: much as the skin of an orange, if it were
loose, might shift over the inner part of the orange all in one
piece. (Hancock, 1995, p. 10) Naturally, if Antarctica shifted
south, and parts of the northern hemisphere moved out of the
arctic zone, this implies other areas must have shifted into the
arctic area and become colder. Indeed, this is what Hancock
claims happened.
Supposedly, if Antarctica still had flowing rivers, then it
could not have been completely covered by ice, and in that
case, since we know it is now in a polar location where it is too
cold for such rivers, it would make sense if it were previously
located outside of a polar climate.
In his book, Hancock pulls together Hapgoods theory and
more recent evidence to set forth a manner by which
Antarctica, now covered by snow and ice, could have in the
relatively recent geologic past had a temperate climate and
have been home to the lost civilization of Atlantis, now buried
below thousands of feet of ice. The theory of ECD shows no
inherent contradictions with plate tectonics, the now-accepted
explanation of how the earths crust moves and changes. In
fact, Hancock claims both can be true, and the ECD is a
modification to an existing, yet incomplete theory.
LAURASIA THEORY
Laurasia is the name given to the largely northern
supercontinent that is thought to have formed most
recently during the late Mesozoic era, as part of the split
of the Pangaeansupercontinent. It also is believed that
the same continents comprising Laurasia existed as a
coherent landmass much earlier, forming after the
breakup of the hypothesized supercontinent Rodinia
about 1 billion years ago. The landmass of this earlier
period is sometimes referred to as Proto-Laurasia to avoid
confusion with the Mesozoic supercontinent.
The name Laurasia combines the names of Laurentia and
Eurasia. Laurasia included most of the landmasses that
make up today's continents of the northern hemisphere,
chiefly Laurentia (the name given to the North American
craton), as well as Baltica, Siberia, Kazakhstania, and the
North China and East China cratons.
The formation of different supercontinents, such as
Laurasia, is explained today by the theory of plate
tectonics, which recognizes the earth to have a thin, solid
crust, made up of several plates, that floats or rides on an
inner layer of melted rock. The view of a supercontinent
that is hundreds of millions of years old poses a problem
for young-earth creationists, but plate tectonics is widely
accepted today and backed by considerable scientific
evidence.