Concept:
Seafloor spreading describes how new oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges and moves outward, carrying the continents with it.
Step 1:
The concept was proposed by the American geologist Harry Hess in the early 1960s. He suggested that molten material rises at mid-oceanic ridges, solidifies into new crust, and pushes the older crust away on both sides.
Step 2:
This idea was later confirmed by the symmetrical pattern of magnetic stripes on either side of the ridges, and it became a key foundation for the theory of plate tectonics.
Answer: Option (4) — Harry Hess.