Eric Kirby

Emile Argand's synthesis of the great mountain chains of Eurasia was a revolutionary leap in our understanding of the tectonics of mountain building. Originally published in 1924, it preceded the development of modern plate tectonics by nearly four decades, yet his interpretation of the India-Asia collision zone (p. 183) is substantively no different from modern understanding. Moreover, his "mobilist" perspective and his contention that continuum mechanics provided a rational basis for the dynamics of lithospheric deformation were bold departures from the conventional wisdom of the age.