Abstract
TWO articles on isostasy by the late Prof. Joseph Barrell, which appeared in the American Journal of Science for October, 1919, contain what may be regarded as his mature views on the subject. The first, entitled “The Nature and Bearings of Isostasy,” was a summary of six lectures delivered by Prof. Barrell at Columbia University in 1916; it gives a general account of the theory of isostatic compensation, and of the methods of investigation which have led to the recognition of the phenomenon. The second article, “The Status of the Theory of Isostasy,” was written just before the author's death; it vindicates the theory as to attacks which have been made on it by MacMillan and others, and describes the various views which are held as to the degree of perfection of isostatic balance existing in Nature. Hayford's general conclusion is maintained: that surface inequalities of contour and mass are accompanied by inverse inequalities of density beneath the surface, so that at a depth of about 120 km. equal areas have equal masses superposed; but a view different from Hayford's is taken as to the exactness of this compensation.
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Isostatic Compensation in the Earth's Crust . Nature 104, 645–646 (1920). https://doi.org/10.1038/104645a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/104645a0