Early Observations
Continental Drift
Evidence of Continental Drift
Climatic Evidence
A Rejected Notion
100
What was the name of the scientist who presented his ideas about continental movement to the scientific community?
Alfred Wegener.
100
Why did Pangea begin to break apart?
Pangea broke apart due to the movement of tectonic plates, which are driven by convection currents in the Earth's mantle, causing the Earth's crust to split and gradually move the continents apart over millions of years.
100
In what type of rocks did Wegener find evidence to prove that climates on some continents had changed remarkably?
Sedimentary.
100
How did Wegener conclude that Antarctica was once a warm tropical climate?
Wegener concluded that Antarctica was a warm tropical climate by providing evidence that coal only could grow in warm, wet regions.
100
Who presented their ideas about continental movement to the scientific community, and when?
Alfred Wegener, 1912
200
How many times was the book The Origins of Continents and Oceans rewritten? When was it written?
The book The Origins of Continents and Oceans was rewritten four times between 1915 and 1929
200
Why did Wegener develop the hypothesis continental drift?
He noticed that the coastlines of certain continents, like South America and Africa, seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces, suggesting they were once connected as a single landmass and has drifted over time.
200
What happened when Pangrea began to break apart?
Large geologic structures, such as mountain ranges became separated as the continents drifted apart.
200
Which hemisphere are coal deposits mostly found?
The Northern Hemisphere.
200
“Why was Alfred Wegener rejected at first?”
Wegener was rejected at first of his hypothesis regarding continental drift because of the two major unresolved flaws. One of them being on what force could have drifted the continents, and the latter one being about how the continents were moving. By the 1960s, after resurfaced evidence, Wegener was now being seriously considered.
Following comprehensive text from image from left to right:
- “No to DRIFT!”
- “Drift is UnAmerican!”
- “NO TO DRIFT”
300
When was the idea of moving continents first proposed?
The idea of moving continents was proposed as a scientific hypothesis in the early 1900’s by German meteorologist, Alfred Wegener.
300
How does Plate Tectonics relate to Continental Drift?
Plate tectonics provides the mechanism for continental drift, explaining how the Earth's crust is divided into large, moving plates.
300
What evidence supported Wegener's Idea that the continents had once been joined together?
He saw that many layers of rock from the Appalachian Mountains were similar to rocks in Greenland and Europe, which were older than 200 million years ago.
300
How did Wegener describe the fact that the landmasses drifted apart instead of Earth changing its axis?
Traces of ancient ice caps were found in regions where they were too warm to develop.
300
What was one major flaw that kept the continental drift from being widely accepted?
(1) it didn't explain what force could have been strong enough to push such large masses over such great distances. (2) scientists questioned how the continents were moved.
400
What fields of education did Wegener study?
Meteorology, geology, geophysics, and geography.
400
What is continental Drift?
A hypothesis which proposed that earth’s continents had once been joined as a single landmass that broke apart and sent the continents adrift.
400
What supercontinent did Wegener find evidence of existence?
Pangaea
400
How did the climate play a role in the solving of continental drift?
Sedimentary rocks provide clues to past environments and climates.
400
When was the continental drift was finally accepted?Why?
In the early 1960’s, the continental drift was finally accepted after new technology revealed more evidence about how the continents move.
500
Who were the first people to know that the Earth’s surface changed?
The first people to notice the changes on the earth’s surface were cartographers.
500
How are continental drift and plate tectonics related?
Continental drift is a theory that describes the movement of continents across the Earth's surface, while plate tectonics is the more comprehensive theory that explains how continents move by riding on large, moving plates of the Earth's crust, providing the mechanism behind continental drift, meaning plate tectonics is the scientific explanation for why continental drift occurs.
500
Where can Mesosaurus fossils be found and why?
They can be found in only freshwater rocks, it is unlikely that this species could have crossed the oceans.
500
Did the glacial deposits have something to do with the ice age? Explain.
Yes, glacial deposits is related to the Ice Age, the glacial deposits are the sediments and debris left behind by glaciers that ended up advancing and retreated during periods of colder climate during the Ice Age
500
When did scientists begin to reconsider Wegener's ideas about continental drift?
1960's, when technology helped to reveal more evidence.