Science, exploration, and the theory of continental drift greene, mott t. Wegener and his theory of continental drift springerlink. Today, the theory of continental drift has been replaced by the science of plate tectonics. While plate tectonics is a relatively new idea, scientists have been gathering data in support of the continental drift theory for a very long time. The concept was independently developed by german geologist alfred wegener in 1912. His continental drift theory is in many aspects erroneous. Continental drift theory of taylor theories geography. In november 1926 wegener presented his continental drift theory at a symposium of the american association of petroleum geologists in new york city, again earning rejection from everyone but the chairman. Pangaea then split, and its pieces drifted, or moved, apart over millions of years to form todays continents.
He named this continent pangaea from the greek for all the earth, and pronounced pangeeuh. The development of the theory is an excellent example of the application of the scientific method. Continental drift occurs when the continents change position in relation to each other. In 1912, alfred wegener proposed a theory that the continents had once been joined, and over time had drifted apart. In this article we will discuss about continental drift. The speculation that continents might have drifted was first put forward by abraham ortelius in 1596. Continental drift theory by wegener smooth knowledge. In 1943 george gaylord simpson wrote a vehement attack on the theory as well as the rival theory of sunken land.
This is alfred wegeners theory of continental drift video by ayeshaibraheem on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. Continental drift was a revolutionary scientific theory developed in the years 19081912 by alfred wegener 18801930, a german meteorologist, climatologist, and geophysicist, that put forth the hypothesis that the continents had all originally been a part of one enormous landmass or supercontinent about 240 million years ago before breaking apart and drifting to their current locations. The continents are embedded within the lithospheric. Pdf alfred wegenerfrom continental drift to plate tectonics. Dec 19, 2017 continental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on earths surface. When continental drift was considered pseudoscience. Alfred wegener was a german scientist trained in astronomy, but he had a strong interest in geology as well. Professor alfred wegener of germany was primarily a meteorologist. Explanation of the continental drift theory in the light of vertebrate distribution. In a few cases, the drifting fragments subsequently collided, coalesced and formed larger landmasses again. When the plates move, the continents and ocean floor above them move as well. The comment also ignored the vast timescale over which continental drift has occurred, effectively the total age of the earth of about 4. Alfred wegeners theory of continental drift became mdm. In this article we will discuss about the continental drift theory of taylor.
Continental drift theory alfred wegener, 1922 plate tectonics breakup of pangea. The continental drift hypothesis was developed in the early part of the 20 th century, mostly by alfred wegener. Jan 06, 2017 his continental drift theory is in many aspects erroneous. Alfred wegener proposed the theory of continental drift the idea that the earths continents move over hundreds of millions of years of geologic time long before the idea was commonly accepted. While wegener was alive, scientists did not believe that the continents could move. How wegeners hypothesis of continetal drift was refined.
The reaction to alfred wegener s theory tells us much about the workings of science. He was well respected in all the many fields to which he applied his undoubted talents with the exception of his bizarre theory of continental drift, which won him few friends and no respect. Generally the critics of his continental drift theory fall in two broad categories, e. Bringing together a large mass of geologic and paleontological data, wegener postulated that throughout most of geologic time there was only one continent, which he called pangea. Polar wandering similar to continental drift theory polar wandering is the relative movement of the earths crust and upper mantle with respect to the rotational poles of the earth. To summarise, the theory of continental drift was published by wegener in 1912 with evidence that the continents were once all joined together. Continental drift theory peninsular india paleontological evidence. Continental drift theory cdt continental drift refers to the movement of the continents relative to each other.
Alfred wegener, an astronomer by training and meteorologist by profession, visualised that there was once a single very large landmass on the surface of the earth. There he argued for the separation of wegeners pangea into the two super continents, laurasia and gondwana. Wegener first presented his theory of continental drift publicly in a lecture on january 6, 1912. Discusses how the lack of a plausible mechanism kept wegeners colleagues from accepting his continental drift hypothesis. B, taylor postulated his concept of horizontal displacement of the continents in the year of 1908 but it could be published only in the year 1910. The first truly detailed and comprehensive theory of continental drift was proposed in 1912 by alfred wegener, a german meteorologist. Jan 06, 2012 wegener hypothesis of continental drift a catchy phrase adopted mainly by the critics, as wegener talks more general of displacement theory was received with mixed feelings. The theory of continental drift is defined as the movement of the earths continents relative to each other, thereby appearing to drift together across the oceanic. Difference between continental drift and plate tectonics.
All continents were once connected in a single large landmass. Inspect evidence for the theory of continental drift involving plate tectonics and supercontinent pangeaa discussion of some of the evidence. Nov 01, 2011 life after death experience nde with steve gardipee, vietnam war story one of the best ndes duration. Wegener and the continental drift hypothesis read earth. Alfred wegener developed theory of continental drift alfred wegener was a german meteorologist studied weather credited with development of the continental.
Science, exploration, and the theory of continental drift. Heather hauser shorter university easc 2060 the natural world submitted by lillie momon december 6, 2011 running head. Continental drift plates in the crust of the earth, according to the plate tectonics theory from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia continental drift is the movement of the earths continents relative to each other. Alfred wegener suggested continental drift theory in the 1920s.
Alfred wegeners continental drift theory faced fierce resistance initially, partially because of his outsider status, and partially due to his ideas of how the continents fit together. As weve studied this idea over the decades, however, it has come to be the accepted theory of. Continental drift is the theory that the earths continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have drifted across the ocean. Gradually it broke up into smaller fragments which drifted away to form the present continents. Oct 01, 2017 to summarise, the theory of continental drift was published by wegener in 1912 with evidence that the continents were once all joined together. The viewpoint includes a description of the theory, the evidence to support it, and reasons why some people did not support it. In the present paper we discuss the initial reaction of italian scientists to the original continental drift theory, with particular focus on the period.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The theory of continental drift continental drift discovery the world alfred wegener theory of continental drift continental drift p95 red book, 182 in sciencesaurus theory that continents were once part of a single landmass that broke apart and have moved to their present locations. Wegener hypothesis of continental drift a catchy phrase adopted mainly by the critics, as wegener talks more general of displacement theory was received with mixed feelings. Wegener and his theory of continental drift indian academy of. Identify alfred wegener and explain his theory of continental drift describe the evidence for wegeners theory and how it was proven after his death to unlock this lesson you must be a.
Three years later the fourth and final expanded edition of the origin of continents and oceans appeared. The continental drift hypothesis was developed in the early part of the 20th century, mostly by alfred wegener. They broke apart about 200 million years ago and drifted apart to their current positions. The main purpose of his hypothesis was to explain the problems of the origin of. Continents cover 29 percent of the surface of the earth and remainder is under oceanic waters.
Wegener said that continents move around on earths surface and that they were once joined together as a single supercontinent. Alfred wegener developed the modern theory of continental drift. Continental drift is now explained as a consequence of moving plates. Alfred wegeners theory of continental drift youtube. He called this supercontinent pangaea, a greek word that means all the earth. Continental drift wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Alfred wegeners lost cause for his continental drift theory. According to continental drift theory there existed one big landmass which he called pangaea which was covered by one big ocean called panthalassa. What are six things that supported wegener s theory of continental drift. Plate tectonics was orii lliginally call dlled the theory of ci lcontinental drift originated by alfred wegener. There he argued for the separation of wegener s pangea into the two super continents, laurasia and gondwana. It later separated into smaller land masses that drifted through the earths crust and continue to do so.
Continental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on earths surface. Continental drift is the theory that the earths continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have drifted across the ocean bed. The movement of land masses is due to centrifugal and tidal forces. The theory states that the continents are moving slowly on the surface of the earth, and the majority of these large landmasses were together once. Explain why oceanic crust slides under continental crust, but continental crust does not usually slide under oceanic crust. Although wagners initial theory did not cover mantle convection until arthur holmes later proposed the theory. Plate tectonics represents a total shift of scientific paradigm. List and describe some of the evidence for the theory of continental drift. While wegener was alive, scientists did not believe that the continents. Set forth in 1912 by alfred wegener, a geophysicist and meteorologist, continental drift also.
According to wegener s continental drift theory, all the continents were one single continental mass called a super continent pangaea and a mega ocean surrounded this supercontinent. Alfred wegner was a german meteorologist who put forth the continental drift theory in 1912 it is considered that there was a single landmass called pangaea which means all earth. Dec 16, 2019 continental drift theory cdt continental drift refers to the movement of the continents relative to each other. Discusses how the lack of a plausible mechanism kept wegener s colleagues from accepting his continental drift hypothesis. Life after death experience nde with steve gardipee, vietnam war story one of the best ndes duration. He wrote the origin of continents and oceans dealing with the theory in 1915. Wegeners continental drift theory pangaea, a single supercontinent, existed about 300 million years ago. Alfred wegener continental drift theory explained hrf. Wegener and the theory of continental drift alfred wegener 18801930 was a german scientist in the fields of meteorology, astronomy, and geology. Six seismologists and a civil servant, charged with manslaughter for failing to predict a 2009 earthquake that killed 308 people in the apennine mountain city of laquila, in italy, will serve six years in prison.
You can make a bit of a case for it, like plato says so, there is a verse in the bible, a phrase in the babylonian flood story, a few old maps, a few anomalies in archeology, and a reconstructing of the continental movements in the battle of the stars poem in the christian sybilline oracles. The book was revised in 1920, 1922 and 1929 in response to criticisms of the theory and advances in earth sciences. How wegener s hypothesis of continetal drift was refined. Identify alfred wegener and explain his theory of continental drift describe the evidence for wegener s theory and how it was proven after his death to unlock this lesson you must be a. Wegeners theory of continental drift in 1912 a german scientist names alfred wegener presented his theory of continental drift to the scientific community. When continental drift was considered pseudoscience science. In 1965 it began to be accepted when plate tectonics.
He was one of the first scientists to theorize about the continental drift or continents in motion, which supports. Continental drift is a theory first presented by abraham ortelius abraham ortels in 1596. Continental drift theory wegener flashcards quizlet. Long ago there was a super continent called pangaea. A large supercontinent pangea split into smaller fragments about.
Wegener and the theory of continental drift free essays. Wegener thought all the continents were once joined together in an urkontinent before breaking up and drifting to. Not the single continents move but entire plates of earths crust and the driving forces comes from within the planet, not from outside. The reaction to alfred wegeners theory tells us much about the workings of science. According to wegners theory, there was only one large continent 300 million years ago. Alfred wegeners theory of continental drift video on vimeo. He suggested that the continents had once been joined as a single landmass. The other theory is that in the flood, the continents separated very swiftly perhaps a few days. This is alfred wegener s theory of continental drift video by ayeshaibraheem on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. A viewpoint on the theory of continental drift, developed by alfred wagener. The continental drift controversy has been deeply analysed in terms of rationalist notions, which seem to find there a unique topic to describe the weight of evidence for reaching consensus. Jul 24, 2019 continental drift was a revolutionary scientific theory developed in the years 19081912 by alfred wegener 18801930, a german meteorologist, climatologist, and geophysicist, that put forth the hypothesis that the continents had all originally been a part of one enormous landmass or supercontinent about 240 million years ago before breaking apart and drifting to their current locations. Theory of continental drift the continental drift hypothesis was developed in the early part of the 20th century, mostly by alfred wegener.