Arthur Holmes

Arthur Holmes (1890–1965) was a British geologist who developed radiometric dating and argued that convection in Earth’s mantle could drive continental drift.

Mantle convection: The slow circulation of solid Earth’s mantle, driven by heat and buoyancy. Holmes proposed this circulation as the force capable of moving continents.
Radioactive decay: The spontaneous transformation of unstable atomic nuclei, releasing particles or energy. Holmes considered radioactive heat a source of energy for mantle circulation.
The Age of the Earth: The scientific problem of determining how long Earth has existed. Holmes’s radiometric work challenged estimates that left too little time for geological change.
Arthur Holmes (geologist): A British geologist and contemporary of Arthur Holmes, active in the early twentieth century. This name can be confused with the geologist described here; it is a distinct person only if independently verified.
Continental drift: The hypothesis that continents move across Earth’s surface and were once joined in larger landmasses. Holmes gave this hypothesis a possible driving mechanism.
Radiometric dating: A method of determining age from the measured decay of radioactive isotopes in materials. Holmes helped establish it, and its age estimates informed his view of Earth’s history.
The Origin of Continents and Oceans: Alfred Wegener’s book presenting evidence for continental drift, first published in 1915. Its drift hypothesis prompted Holmes to seek a plausible driving process.
Harry Hess: An American geologist whose seafloor-spreading hypothesis helped establish plate tectonics. Hess later supplied ocean-floor evidence that complemented Holmes’s earlier convection proposal.
Plate tectonics: The theory that Earth’s lithosphere is divided into moving plates whose interactions shape the planet’s surface. It later incorporated mantle dynamics into a comprehensive theory of moving plates.
Earth's mantle: The thick layer of mostly solid silicate rock between Earth’s crust and core. Holmes placed the proposed convective circulation within this layer.

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