Ben Oostdam's
Autobiography:

1960-1963


page 28 		1961

SOME GEOLOGY AROUND 1960

Before 1960, most geologists assumed the ocean basins were permanent and very old.

Kuenen had calculated the average sediment thickness to be 3 kilometers.

(left, and link below):
Menard (1986) "The Ocean of Truth":
quoting Hess, 1960:
contrast between oceans and continents

from Menard's Tectonics Lecture of September 23, 1960:
LAYER: SOUNDVELOCITY
(kilometers/second) 		AVERAGE
THICKNESS
(kilometers) 		COMPOSITION
1 2.15 0.3 sediments
2 4.5 - 6.3 1.57 possibly limestone, volcanics, or
consolidated sediments
3 6.4 - 7.1 5 igneous
MOHO 7.8 - 8.2 0 inter-face (-phase?) between crust above and mantle below

Layer 3 was called the OCEANIC LAYER and considered "surprisingly uniform in thickness."
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