...Continental drift is happening. Discuss the evidence Continental drift is defined as the gradual movement of continents across the Earths surface through geological time. As early as 1620, Francis Bacon noted the jigsaw-like fit between the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa. However, it was in 1912 when a German meteorologist, Alfred Wegener, published his theory that all the continents were once joined together in one large supercontinent, which was named Pangaea. Wegeners theory of continental drift combined information from several subject areas, examples include: maps, biology, geology and climatology. Be that as it may, specialists in those disciplines rejected his ideas partly because he was not regarded as an expert himself, but mainly because he could explain how solid continents had changed their position. Wegener could never come up with an underlying reason for the motion of the continents. The theory of continental drift eventually evolved into the modern theory of plate tectonics. This holds that the lithosphere (or the Earth's crust) is made up of numerous plates that literally float on the underlying liquid asthenosphere. The motion of the plates and resulting activity at their edges to form mountains, trenches, and volcanoes explains the planet's topography. The first piece of evidence that really inspired Wegners quest to explain Earths geology was a map of the continents that showed the interlocking fit of Africa’s and South Americas...
Words: 1032 - Pages: 5
...September 2013 The world as we know it may or may not have always existed. The formations of land masses and, the joining of the waters and ice caps that we recognize as earth in aerial photographs likely looked very different in the past. In this paper I hope to shed some light on the theory of continental drift and explain the various ideologies that attempt to explain these theories. The first term that must be understood in order to grasp the theory of continental drift is plate tectonics. The idea of plate tectonics dates back to the 1600’s, but was not given much credibility until 1915. It was at this time that meteorologist Alfred Wegner released a book based on his study of the continents. He proposed that the continents of the earth were once connected. This idea was based not only on the fact that the continents fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, but also the fact that there are similar fossils of both plants and animals found in the areas which would be connected if the continents were put back together. Wegener called this one continent world Pangaea.. Although Wegener offered the most credible evidence of continental drift to date, only a few others were confident in his theory. Most geologists ridiculed him for his ideas. The major flaw with Wegener’s theory was that he could not explain how the continents moved. His idea was that the continents simply drifted, forcing their way through the ocean floor. This simply was not enough...
Words: 636 - Pages: 3
...Continental Drift A German geologist and meteorologist named Alfred Wegener introduced a theory in 1915 that the Earth’s crust is slowly drifting using fossil records as his supporting evidence. Wegeners idea was Earth was one big continent 200 million years ago, he called it Pangaea, which means “All earth”. Albert Wegener published a book about this theory in 1915 called, On the Origin of Continents and Oceans. An Austrian geologist named Eduard Seuss was the first to find that there had once been a land bridge that connecting South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica, he named the large piece of land Gondwanaland, the southern part of the huge continent Pangaea after it broke up during the Jurassic period. Seuss’s theory is supported by the fossil plants that are found throughout India, South America, southern Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. Fossils of the first marine reptiles known as Mesosaurus that are even older than dinosaurs were found in South America and South Africa. With the discovery of the fossil in two different locations across water and the study of sedimentation and fossil plant in these southern continents led a South African scientist named Alexander duToit to supporting the idea that at one point all of the continents were once together and have drifted apart like Albert Wegener theorized. In 1960, a theory was made explaining the movement of the Earth’s plates and explains the causes of volcanoes, oceanic trenches, mountain...
Words: 1116 - Pages: 5
...1. The continental drift theory first supported by Alfred Wegener, is the theory that 220 million years ago the continents known today were once a supercontinent known as Pangaea. Over time, the continents drifted apart along the Earth’s surface to their current locations due to the rotation of the Earth. To support this theory, Wegener collected rocks and fossils from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean as proof that the continents were once united (Abbott, 2012). Sea floor spreading and magnetization patterns on sea floors also support the theory of continental drift. The floor of the Atlantic Ocean is striped with parallel bands of magnetized rock. These bands are symmetrical and parallel with the mid Atlantic ridge (Abbott, 2012). Each stripe has a twin on the opposite side of the ridge. These magnetized stripes moving away from the ridge support the theory of sea floor spreading. Plate tectonics is the description of the movements of plates and the effects of plate formation, collision, subduction, and slide-past (Abbott 2012). Plates are broken pieces of the Earth’s lithosphere. Plate tectonic theory states that the Earth’s crust is located on top of the lithosphere, allowing the crust to move. The crust moves due to forces generated within the asthenosphere, fueled by the internal heat of the Earth’s core. Four major scientific developments spurred the formulation of the plate-tectonics theory: (1) demonstration of the ruggedness and youth of the ocean floor; (2) confirmation...
Words: 666 - Pages: 3
...Continental Drift, the theory that continents move slowly about the earth's surface, changing their positions relative to one another and to the poles of the earth. In the past the theory has been discussed but not generally accepted, most geologists believing the continents to be fixed in place and subject only to vertical movements, such as those observed during mountain uplift. In recent years, however, a sound body of evidence in support of a modified form of the drift theory has been found. Ideas are becoming precise and unified, with emphasis on a moving, evolving ocean floor. The new theory is called plate tectonics. Early Theories Soon after the Atlantic Ocean had been mapped, about three hundred years ago, it was noticed that the opposite coasts had similar shapes, but it was not until the middle of the 19th century that accurate maps were published demonstrating that the two coasts could be fitted together quite closely. Some geologists then suggested that the fit of the coasts was not an accident--that the continents were once joined and had subsequently drifted apart. None of the suggestions were taken seriously. In 1912, however, the German meteorologist Alfred Wegener investigated the fit of the Atlantic coasts more carefully than had his predecessors and grouped all the continents together into one great land mass, which he called Pangaea. He supposed that the mass began to break apart about 200 million years ago. He also showed that some geological features...
Words: 1873 - Pages: 8
...Jonathan Signater CSS 1302-02 10-18-13 Medhurst General Purpose: To inform (Theory) Specific Purpose: My purpose is to inform my audience about the theory of Continental Drift. Central Idea: My central idea is making sure my audience has a better understanding of the Continental Drift and how the theory was formulated. The Continental Drift Theory` I.(Introduction) For years scientists struggled to explain how similar rocks and fossils were found on continents that are far apart from each other. Until the 20th century when scientist Alfred Wegener's theory of Continental Drift was introduced. A. "Before Wegner introduced his theory it was thought that mountains formed because the Earth was cooling down, and in doing so contracted. This was believed to form wrinkles, or mountains, in the Earth's crust. Wegener suggested that mountains were formed when the edge of a drifting continent collided with another, causing it to crumple and fold". ("The Earth in the Universe,"1999) -BBC reference. 1. Alfred Wegner noticed that the continents seemed to fit together at the edge of their continental shelves . 2. He noticed this because he observed that continents in the Southern Hemisphere have similar rock and fossil patterns. B. He believed that the continents were all once apart of a large supercontinent called Pangea. II. Aside from fossils and rock patterns there...
Words: 466 - Pages: 2
...Lorinda White Feb-09-15 PHS120 Essay 2 1. Cite the lines of evidence Alfred Wegener used to support his idea of continental drift. Why did scientists doubt that continents drifted? Alfred Wegner’s evidence was the way the continents fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, fossils of the same prehistoric species were found where continental drift was expected to be (for example fossils of the same species were found in western Africa and South America), matching mountain ranges, and land features and climate change. His ideas were not accepted because Wegner could not give an explanation of what caused the continental drift. 2. Discuss the trade-off between money and human lives when considering construction in earthquake-prone zones. Consider factors such as housing costs, taxes for safer public facilities, different standards for different types of buildings (e.g., homes, apartments, stores and shopping centers, nuclear power plants, etc.). Building in earthquake-prone zones can be costly as the codes for creating buildings that can withstand earthquakes changes almost yearly, and several factors outside of an earthquake can cause the building to fail and cost human lives. Most earthquake related deaths come from human construction failing and killing people in or near it. When building in these high risk zones, companies and the government must decide is it better to spend a lot of money on constructing building, roads, and bridges that can withstand an 8.0 magnitude earthquake...
Words: 300 - Pages: 2
...looked for evidence which was recorded in their rocks. In 1912 Wegner presented the idea of continental drift and his supporting evidence to a meeting of the Geological Society of Frankfurt. Geologists around the world read the English Translation of his book the Origin of Continents and Oceans which was published in 1922. He found interesting evidence from mountain chains, rocks and fossils on different continents. However most geologists reject such a grand and unlikely explanation of these explanations. Wegner Claimed: Fossil plants from both Africa and South America were identical. Reptile fossils matched too. People claimed he couldn’t just draw conclusions from a few fossils. They thought that there could once have been a land bridge joining Africa and South America. Wegner disagreed with the idea and asked for the evidence of there being a land bridge. The rock types on each continent fit like pictures on a jigsaw. The continents were once joined together. He claimed continents moved slowly. However one of the key principles of geology was to ‘use the present to interpret the past’ and therefore because it was said that the continents were not moving in the present that they had not previously moved at all. They also questioned what force would be able to move the continent. http://www.scec.org/education/k12/learn/plate2.htm http://www.scientus.org/Wegener-Continental-Drift.html...
Words: 383 - Pages: 2
...He looked for evidence which was recorded in their rocks. In 1912 Wegner presented the idea of continental drift and his supporting evidence to a meeting of the Geological Society of Frankfurt. Geologists around the world read the English Translation of his book the Origin of Continents and Oceans which was published in 1922. He found interesting evidence from mountain chains, rocks and fossils on different continents. However most geologists reject such a grand and unlikely explanation of these explanations. Wegner Claimed: Fossil plants from both Africa and South America were identical. Reptile fossils matched too. People claimed he couldn’t just draw conclusions from a few fossils. They thought that there could once have been a land bridge joining Africa and South America. Wegner disagreed with the idea and asked for the evidence of there being a land bridge. The rock types on each continent fit like pictures on a jigsaw. The continents were once joined together. He claimed continents moved slowly. However one of the key principles of geology was to ‘use the present to interpret the past’ and therefore because it was said that the continents were not moving in the present that they had not previously moved at all. They also questioned what force would be able to move the continent. http://www.scec.org/education/k12/learn/plate2.htm http://www.scientus.org/Wegener-Continental-Drift.html...
Words: 383 - Pages: 2
...Name of Scientist | Year/Date Discovered | Description of the Inventor | Nicolaus Copernicus(Astronomer) | 1473-1543 | proposed a model of the solar system that involved the Earth revolving around the sun. The model wasn't completely correct, as astronomers of the time struggled with the backwards path Mars sometimes took, but it eventually changed the way many scientists viewed the solar system. | Galileo Galilei(Astronomer) | 1564-1642 | he discovered the four primary moons of Jupiter (now known as the Galilean moons), as well as the rings of Saturn. Though a model of the Earth circling the sun was first proposed by Copernicus, it took some time before it became widely accepted. | Albert Einstein(Astronomer) | 1879-1955 | Einstein suggested that the laws of physics are the same throughout the universe, that the speed of light in a vacuum is constant, and that space and time are linked in an entity known as space-time, which is distorted by gravity | John Dalton(Meteorologist) | 1787 | Dalton was trying to explain why gases stay mixed, instead of settling out in layers in the atmosphere. Atomic weights were basically an afterthought in a paper he presented, and he was encouraged to study them further. | Cleveland Abbe(Meteorologist) | 1871 | Cleveland Abbe inaugurated a public weather service that served as a model for the national weather service, which was organized shortly thereafter as a branch of the U.S. Army Signal Service. In 1871 he was appointed chief meteorologist...
Words: 644 - Pages: 3
...theory of continental drift. Wegner hypothesised that there was a gigantic super continent 200 million years ago (Pangaea). He stated that the Pangaea broke up into two smaller continents, which then separated into landmasses that look like our modern day countries. Wegner provided evidence such as the shape of the east coast of South America fits the west coast of Africa, like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. He also stated that there were unusual violet quartzites found in both in Brazil and South Africa moreover, he stated that the form and pattern of the ancient fold mountains of northwest Scotland, Norway, eastern Greenland, northern new found land and the coast of new England are similar to suggest there was once a continuous mountain range. Lastly he suggested that there were rare leaf fossils found in South America, South Africa India and Australia. Wegener provided this evidence to prove that there was once a Pangaea that spilt up. Despite the evidence Wegener provided critics did not accept his theory, as he was not a geologist, also that Iberian Peninsula prevents the neat fit of Europe into Africa and Spain and Portugal only fitted if they were turned around and lastly he had no evidence on the process of how the continents drifted apart. In order to prove Wegener theory there was two types of evidence needed to shown first that supports that that the continents actually drifted and second, that shows that the movement of the plates had caused the drift. Later...
Words: 685 - Pages: 3
...Continental drift, seafloor spreading and plate tectonics have many similarities. They also have many differences. Sea floor spreading is when new molten material comes up through the mantle onto the ocean floor. Continental drift is when the continents break apart and move. Plate tectonics is what the continents and ocean are on and moving on. Continental drift, seafloor spreading and plate tectonics are all related. Continental drift, seafloor spreading and plate tectonics are all similar in many ways.They all have many processes and in them. Seafloor spreading and continental drift are two of the major processes in plate tectonics. They also deal with moving on the plates.They also are all part of the lithosphere and mantle. The plates...
Words: 336 - Pages: 2
...Earth has been changing since the beginning of time. Theories like continental drift, plate tectonics, and sea-floor spreading explain what the earth used to look like and why it looks like it does today. Continental drift states that all the continents used to all be one supercontinent called Pangaea, and over the last 200 million years, the continents slowly drifted apart to where they are now (Evers 1). The theory of tectonic plates states that all the continents and oceans sit on plates or large pieces of rock under the earth and slowly move by convection currents in the mantle (Cowan 1). Sea-floor spreading is the process in which magma from a ridge cools and creates ocean floor. This new ocean floor pushes the older floor towards trenches....
Words: 691 - Pages: 3
...Continental drift, sea-floor spreading, and plate tectonics have many similarities and differences. Continental drift is the theory that explains how the continents shift on Earth’s surface. Sea-floor spreading is the process where new sea-floor is created as molten material which rises in the from the Earth’s mantle. Plate tectonics is the theory at which the lithosphere is separated into different plates, and are moving along the asthenosphere. Continental drift, sea-floor spreading and plate tectonics all have similarities and differences. All three of these pieces are theories, which all incorporate or are supported by plate tectonics. Continental drift, sea-floor spreading and plate tectonics have different creators. Continental drift, sea-floor spreading and plate tectonics are similar in many ways. One way that continental drift and plate tectonics similar is that they both deal with the movement of continents. Continental drift explains how the continents shift on Earth’s surface and how the continents are...
Words: 485 - Pages: 2
...Plate tectonics is the theory that the earth’s crust is divided up into a dozen plates. Continental drift is how geologists explain that the continents have moved over time. Sea-floor spreading is when two tectonic plates move away from each other and magma come up to form new ocean floors. Plate tectonics, continental drift, and sea-floor spreading have some similarities and differences. They can be contrasted based on boundaries. They could be compared based on what caused the process to happen. Plate tectonics, continental drift, and sea-floor spreading are similar in many ways, here are three ways that they are similar, by theories, or even what causes them to happen. One way that continental drift and sea-floor spreading are similar...
Words: 608 - Pages: 3
