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Naman Pujari

The Supporting Evidence Of Continental Drift Theory - 19 views

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    Must-See Site For Evidence For Continental Drift
Rima Touya

What evidence did Alfred Wegener use to support his theory of continental drift - 18 views

  • Alfred Wegener's fully developed theory of continental drift attempted to point out evidences that the continents were once joined into a single continent he called Pangea. Wegener's theory hypothesized that the continents were able to push through the rock of the seafloor to their present positions. As evidence, he noted, as had others before him, of the geographic correlation in coastline perimeters of South America and Africa. This was the feature that led Wegener to investigate for other evidences. His investigations revealed that mountain ranges in South America and Africa, and strata and composition of coal fields in Europe and North America matched or lined up. Additionally, matching reptilian fossils were found on either side of the ocean, indicating that the continents were once joined together. Although he was unable to find a mechanism for his proposed continental drift theory, he also observed that the more shallow an ocean, the younger its geologic age. It wasn't until the 1950's and 1960's, with the discovery of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and other sea floor mapping discoveries that Wegener's hypothesis started to become more accepted. The newer science of plate tectonics owes much to Wegener's scientific groundwork.
Rima Touya

Alfred Wegener - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 8 views

  • Alfred Wegener first thought of this idea by noticing that the different large landmasses of the Earth almost fit together like a jigsaw.
  • The Continental shelf of the Americas fit closely to Africa and Europe, and Antarctica, Australia, India and Madagascar fit next to the tip of Southern Africa.
  • He analyzed either side of the Atlantic Ocean for rock type, geological structures and fossils. He noticed that there was a significant similarity between matching sides of the continents, especially in fossil plants.
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  • From 1912, Wegener publicly advocated the theory of "continental drift", arguing that all the continents were once joined together in a single landmass and have drifted apart.
  • In his work, Wegener presented a large amount of very strong
  • In 1943 George Gaylord Simpson wrote a vehement attack on the theory
  • evidence in support of continental drift, but the mechanism remained elusive. While his ideas attracted a few early supporters such as Alexander Du Toit from South Africa and Arthur Holmes in England, the hypothesis was generally met with skepticism from largely conservative scientists, who were resistant to any change in the status quo.
  • but G.G.Simpson's influence was so powerful that even in countries previously sympathetic towards continental drift, like Australia
  • Wegener's hypothesis fell out of favour.
    • Annabelle Cheng
       
      Diagram to show evidence
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    How Alfred W. first came up with this theory...
Rima Touya

Plate tectonics | Article | World Book Student - 10 views

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    mantle rock as it rises to the top of the asthenosphere, cools, and then sinks is known as a
Annabelle Cheng

Continental Drifts - 1 views

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    Quite useful, lots of evidence
Annabelle Cheng

BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Wegener's theory - 11 views

  • Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift at the beginning of the 20th century. His idea was that the Earth's continents were once joined together, but gradually moved apart over millions of years. It offered an explanation of the existence of similar fossils and rocks on continents that are far apart from each other. But it took a long time for the idea to become accepted by other scientists.Before Weg
  • Wegener suggested that mountains were formed when the edge of a drifting continent collided with another, causing it to crumple and fold. For example, the Himalayas were formed when India came into contact with Asia.
  • se the Earth was cooling down, and in doing so contracted. This was believed to form wrinkles, or mountains, in the Earth's crust. If the idea was correct, however, mountains would be spread evenly over the Earth's surface. We know this is not the case.
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  • Wegener’s evidence for continental drift was that: the same types of fossilised animals and plants are found in South America and Africathe shape of the east coast of South America fits the west coast of Africa, like pieces in a jigsaw puzzlematching rock formations and mountain chains are found in South America and Africa
  • nerBefore Wegener dev
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    • Annabelle Cheng
       
      clear slideshow that explains wegener's theory
Aey Chuaratanaphong

BBC News - Animated guide: Volcanoes - 0 views

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    No comment
Peter Froer

How Shifting Plates Caused the Japan Earthquake - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com - 3 views

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    Compare satellite images of areas of Japan before and after the disaster. Zoom in on images and examine scenes of the destruction in Japan. Tokyo bureau chief Martin Fackler reports on the huge earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan.
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