All the foregoing is characteristic of the common latitudinal zonality of the body of the Earth. This zonality, moreover, applies to the depths of the planet, including the mantle, as well as to the surface regions. Finally, it also holds true in all of the circulating envelopes of the Earth, both gaseous and liquid. Thus, like the solid body of the Earth, the liquid and gaseous envelopes around it are also closely related to the structure of the Earth, which on the whole is determined by the terrestrial field.
In other words, the establishment of critical parallels is important for the reorganization of meteorology as well as of geology. If explanations of transformation phenomena in terms of thermal causes are unsuitable in geology, then, as Usmanov has pointed out, they will be equally unsuitable in meteorology.
New opinions on these subjects were developed in meteorology con siderably earlier than in geology. The first to express views on them was Voeikov, who in 1882 noted the existence of two main parallels in the atmosphere. It was only later that Tillo referred to a critical 35th parallel for the lithosphere and demonstrated its existence. At present Usmanov is continuing to develop the assumptions of Voeikov and his successors, one of whom was Brounov (1924).
In addition, we should definitely add the following. Stovas is quite correct when he says that mountain chains are for the most part located along the critical parallels. However, he analyzes only the processes taking place in the lithosphere, whereas all the envelopes of the Earth play a part in producing disturbances, the activity of the envelope apparent ly decreasing from the troposphere down to the Earth's core. Therefore, the theory of Stovas will be incomplete if the roles of all the mutually interacting envelopes are not taken into account. This will be especially true if the atmosphere and hydrosphere are not considered, and probably the ionosphere and mantle of the Earth as well. All these envelopes have a structural makeup as well, and their active participation in the production of disturbances must by no means be underestimated.
Consequently, on the basis of the aforementioned regularities of first, second, and third order, we can now formulate a fourth-order regularity. According to the new regularity: dislocations and deformations of the Earth originate in the interaction of the out-of phase motions of all the terrestrial envelopes, these motions being produced by the rotation of the masses of these envelopes, heat (primarily solar heat) being at the same time transferred to the envelopes.
I have especially reviewed all the studies of Stovas in order to ascertain definitely whether he refers to processes taking place in the hydrosphere and atmosphere, and I have become convinced that there are almost no such references in his works. I was the first to indicate to Stovas the part played by Tillo in discovering the [critical] 35th parallel, andI also pointed out Voeikov's discovery of the critical parallels in the atmosphere in 1882. Later he himself showed me the aforementioned work of Brounov (1924), in which the existence of [critical] parallels in the atmosphere is also indicated.
However, nowhere in his works does Stovas refer to critical parallels in the atmosphere. It was only in 1960, in a short note in "The Theory of Critical Parallels" (1960), that Stovas mentioned in passing the ideas expressed by Khromov, Usmanov, Trauberg, and others concerning critical parallels "in the general circulation of the atmosphere". On the basis of this I wish to point out that, in spite of the very great significance of his assumptions for the theory of the Earth, and in spite of his attempts to enlarge the problem of the formation of deformations and dislocations of the Earth's crust on the basis of the interaction of the envelopes, still Stovas has provided only a starting point for the solution of this problem.
The first to refer to the interaction of the envelopes as a source of tectonic phenomena was Lichkov (1960).
In one of his recent works (1960) Stovas introduced into his theory, to no purpose at all, the idea of gigantic continents. In this work (see Figure 3 on page 59) he refers to Gondwanaland, Laurentia, etc., continents which probably never existed. Such ideas only spoil his otherwise quite correct, simple, and excellent analysis. Large continents are completely unneces sary to his theory. Moreover, Stovas understood very well that, regard less of the physical state of the mass of the envelope, the regularities of the behavior of zonal structures under the conditions of rotation of an ellipsoid with polar flattening, will be the same for any form of matter.