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A number of discoveries during the post¬war period added new information to geological literature. Particularly, the information collected from the ocean floor mapping provided new dimensions for the study of distribution of oceans and continents.
• These currents are generated due to radioactive elements causing thermal differences in the mantle portion. Holmes argued that there exists a system of such currents in the entire mantle portion. This was an attempt to provide an explanation to the issue of force, on the basis of which contemporary scientists discarded the continental drift theory.
• Detailed research of the ocean configuration revealed that the ocean floor is not just a vast plain but it is full of relief.
• Expeditions to map the oceanic floor in the post-war period provided a detailed picture of the ocean relief and indicated the existence of submerged mountain ranges as well as deep trenches, mostly located closer to the continent margins.
• The mid-oceanic ridges were found to be most active in terms of volcanic eruptions. The dating of the rocks from the oceanic crust revealed the fact that they are much younger than the continental areas.
• Rocks on either side of the crest of oceanic ridges and having equi-distant locations from the crest were found to have remarkable similarities both in terms of their constituents and their age.