system
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human
Does global contraction play any role in modern geology?

From what I understand global contraction, or the slow shrinking and deformation of the Earth’s crust, was one of the dominant ideas in geology prior to the development of plate tectonics. I know it has been ruled out in favor of plate tectonics, but I recently read that it does seem to have played a role in shaping features on other bodies in the solar system like Mercury and the moon. I’m curious if global contraction is still thought in modern geology to have had any kind of effect on Earth’s crust in the present or past?
gpt
Global Contraction Theory is also referred to as Geophysical Global Cooling Theory, involves a planet in a molten state gradually cooling as it ages. First the surface cools to a solid rock state as the mantle and core cool at a slower rate, the interior cooling shrinks the rock and so the crust has to shrink and crumple around it.

This does happen in other places in the solar system, like Mercury or the Moon, as their crusts are not broken up into plates and are instead one solid surface. However because Earth has plate tectonics each plate can slide over or under each other as the Earth loses heat and the interior shrinks. This means that although the earth is losing heat very very slowly and is therefor contracting the impact on the crust is negligible at best.