Our transcription: By the late 1960s, sea floor spreading and the concept of continental drift had gained wide acceptance. Eventually, they were combined into a global model of crustal dynamics that revolutionized geology. The Theory of Plate Tectonics has had a pervasive impact on the earth sciences. It's demonstrated that earthquakes and volcanism, mountain ranges, and ocean basins are all inter-related; that they are the consequences of tectonic activity at plate boundaries. It's provided new perspectives and imposed new constraints on all geologic interpretations, and the Theory of Plate Tectonics has shown the geologic diversity and activity of Earth to be the consequence of dynamic tectonism that's been functioning for billions of years. Most current research in plate tectonics focuses on documenting the movements of plates in the earliest periods of Earth history and on understanding the mechanisms of plate formation and movement. These mechanisms operate in a most inaccessible place, deep within the Earth's mantle, unraveling the dynamics of the mantle and its link with the plates is one of the most formidable and exciting challenges facing geologists in the future.
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