From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishplate tectonicsˌplate tecˈtonics noun [uncountable] technical HEGthe study of the forming and movement of the large sheets of rock that form the surface of the Earth
Examples from the Corpus
plate tectonics• Any plate tectonics model of the Andes must in fact account for the uplift essentially in terms of vertical tectonics.• The organic response to the changes in the physical environment induced by plate tectonics can be considered under three headings.• In continental plate tectonics what seems static, the surface of the earth, is in reality in constant flux.• Stewart, Hagstrom & Small produced hill models of the major clusters of papers in plate tectonics using author co-citation methods.• Yet with the advent of plate tectonics, this model had to evolve.• Lured by the excitement of plate tectonics, some felt that earth science would be a practical way to apply their knowledge.• Such was the excitement in the field as the new theory of plate tectonics was taking shape.• For once the theory of plate tectonics took shape, a series of implications for the deep earth quickly tumbled into place. 