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How did Alfred Wegener knew that the 7 continents were once a supercontinent and how did he develop the Continental Drift Theory?
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What did Alfred Wegener and what did he theorize?
Alfred Wegener was a German scientist who was the first one to discover the continental drift. In 1915, Alfred Wegener, suggested that about 300 million years ago all of Earth's land masses, which were in constant motion, collided to form one supercontinent. He called it Pangaea , which means " all land". About 200 million years ago, the supercontinent of Pangaea started to break up. The pieces drifted in different directions to their present positions. Wegener had 4 proofs for his theory of continental drift. Most scientists did not accept the theory because Wegener could not explain what force was powerful enough to move continents. Wegener tried to prove his theory: He saw the jigsaw fit between South America and Africa. He found fossils of the same plants and animals on both continents. He believed that they exist in both places only if the continents were once joined together. It was not until the 1960's that the technology existed to develop Wegener's theory further. By 1968, a new and more complete theory known as plate tectonics had been developed.
Which piece of evidence did Alfred Wegener use to develop the theory of continental drift?
hotspots on the ocean floor
When did geologists develop the theory of plate tectonics?
This notion was first suggested as early as 1596 by the Dutch map maker Abraham Ortelius in his work 'Thesaurus Geographicus'. Alfred Wegener came up with the theory of Plate Tectonics (Continental Drift Theory). In 1911, he discovered that dinosaur fossils of the same species were found on different continents across the oceans. No dinosaur could have swum that far. Therefore, he concluded that all the continents were joined together at first. Since the continents are split up now, something must have been moving them. And he came up with the idea of plate tectonics.In 1912, he publicly advocated the theory of "continental drift", arguing that all the continents were once joined together in a single landmass and have drifted apart. However, no one believed him at first, and thought that he was joking. He was also not a good speaker, and thus did not manage to convince them. In 1915, he published a book called "(Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane)", which means The Origins of Continents and Oceans, which contained his explanations and evidences to his proposed theory. His theory was later accepted after years of proving and research.
What actually mean by Pangea?
Pangaea means "whole Earth" pan means "whole" and geae Means "Earth" comment. The above is TRUE for the meaning, and indeed why it was chosen. It is the name given to the (latest in a series of) super continent including all the (mainly continental) landmass of the earth. After the Triassic period it split into Laurasia and Gondwanaland, and subsequently various tectonic plates have further separated. e.g. The Indian Plate used to lie alongside Madagascar, but split off and is still moving into the Asian Plate. It's Greek for "whole earth".
Is Hawaii on a convergent plate boundary?
Continental Drift was introduced by Alfred Wegener. He divulged his theory through his book The Origin of Continents and Oceans. He believed there was once a supercontinent called Pangaea. He supported his proposition of continental drift through the geographic distribution of fossils, ancient climates, and the puzzle piece fit of Africa and South America.
Who thought of the continental drift?
Alfred Wegener was the first person to fully develop a theory that all the continents of the world were once part of the same giant landmass (or supercontinent) called Pangea; which broke apart with the constituent parts drifting away from one another and arriving at their current locations. This drift is still occurring today and some scientists believe that the continents will eventually recombine to form another supercontinent called Pangaea ultima.
What observations led to Alfred wegener to develop the hypothesis of continental drift?
The observation that led Alfred Wegener to develop the hypothesis of continental drift was that the continents looked like a puzzle that could fit together and then found out that fossils of similar kind and whats left of similar plants were found on opposite sides of the world.
What evidence caused Alfred Wegener to develop his hypothesis of continental drift?
One of His Theorys of continental drift was, that you could fit the continents back together if you had pictures. Also it would make up Pangea
What did Alfred Wegener and what did he theorize?
Alfred Wegener was a German scientist who was the first one to discover the continental drift. In 1915, Alfred Wegener, suggested that about 300 million years ago all of Earth's land masses, which were in constant motion, collided to form one supercontinent. He called it Pangaea , which means " all land". About 200 million years ago, the supercontinent of Pangaea started to break up. The pieces drifted in different directions to their present positions. Wegener had 4 proofs for his theory of continental drift. Most scientists did not accept the theory because Wegener could not explain what force was powerful enough to move continents. Wegener tried to prove his theory: He saw the jigsaw fit between South America and Africa. He found fossils of the same plants and animals on both continents. He believed that they exist in both places only if the continents were once joined together. It was not until the 1960's that the technology existed to develop Wegener's theory further. By 1968, a new and more complete theory known as plate tectonics had been developed.
Which piece of evidence did Alfred Wegener used to develop the theory of continental drift?
hotspots on the ocean floor
Which piece of evidence did Alfred Wegener use to develop the theory of continental drift?
hotspots on the ocean floor
What evidence provides for continental drift?
About a century ago, Alfred Wegener noticed that some of the world's continents actually looked like they could fit together like puzzle pieces, even though they were hundreds or even thousands of miles apart. Additionally, fossils found in these "matching" areas seemed to be very similar. This led Wegener to develop his theory of continental drift, which most scientists today accept.
Did Wladimir Koppen develop the hypothesis of continental drift?
No, the hypothesis that continents 'drift' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596 and was fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912. Koppen is most widely known for his development of a climate classification system. More information follows on the Related Link listed below:
What obeservation led Alfred Wegener to develop a hypothesis of continental drift?
I believe his first observation was the way the continents of South America and Africa "fit" together like a jigsaw puzzle (although he was not the first to realize this). He also made note of fossil discoveries in Africa which corresponded to those in South America. Finally, he began his own research which actually alligned rock formation/componants from one side of the Atlantic with the other.
What observation led Alfred wegener to develop the hypothosis of a central drift?
Nothing.
What observation led albert wegener to develop the hypothesis of a centental drift?
Wegener first noticed that it looked like South America coastline could "fit" into Africa's. After that he analysed both their continental shelve's and this showed an even closer fit. The thrid observation that brought about his theory of continental drift was that he found fossils of the same animals (can't remember any names off the top of my head sorry) in both Argentina and east Somalia, Africa. The animal is the Mesosaurus, a fossil known to live 270 million years ago. This animal was very unlikely to swim across the ocean, so the continents had to conjoined one time in the past. Hope this helps :)
How do continents develop?
The movement of the tectonic plates
