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What evidence do scientists have to prove that the continents are drifting apart?
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Rock Type and Structural Similarities
When the continents are reassembled, the mountain chains from a
continuous belt - having the same rock types, structures and rock ages.
Paleoclimatic Evidence
Glacial till of the same age is found in southern Africa, South America,
India and Australia - areas that it would be very difficult to explain the
occurrence of glaciation.
At the same time, large coal
deposits were formed from tropical
swamps in N. America and
Pangaea with S. Africa centered
over the South Pole could account
for the conditions necessary to
generate glacial ice in the
southern continents.
In addition, the areas with
extensive coal deposits from the
same time period occur in regions
that would have been equatorial
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 15y agoInitially the shape of the continents, which appear to fit together something like a jigsaw puzzle, suggested the possibility. Matching geologic formations and ancient fossil groups in eastern Brazil and western South Africa gave further support to the theory.
The discovery of sea floor spreading, mid oceanic trenches, and plate margins and subduction zones provided a firm foundation for the theory. With the advent of GPS satellites where we could precisely measure the annual spread, the theory was confirmed in real time.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoThe movement and space that it moves.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoPangea
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What were Charles Darwin's contributions to Wegeners theory of continental drift?
Most people actually state that Darwin beat Wegener to the theory of continental drift as he mentioned in most of his studies about the continents drifting apart and fitting together.
What hypothesis says that all the continents once were joined as a single supercontinent and have since drifted apart?
this supercontinent is called PANGEA. it is the greek word for "all lands".
What is wegner's theory?
'''It might be long but it has useful info!''' '''Alfred Wegner's Theory''' Wegner's (pronounced vegner because he was German) theory was that millions and millions of years ago, the seven continents were all joined together in a large continent called Pangaea. Pangaea means "whole earth", do you get it? Obviously, the continents are not joined together now. This explains ''continental drift''; another part of Wegner's theory. Continental drift is the slow movement of continents. Pangaea's continents slowly started drifting away from each other to where they are now. Many people think Wegner's theory is whacky, he has proof though. '''Proof:''' '''Evidence 1:''' Don't the continents look like a puzzle? If you look on a world map, doesn't it look like South America can fit perfectly into Africa? Many oher continents can do that; look at a world map closely. '''Evidence 2:''' Now, all the continents are very well apart. How come north Africa shares the same fossils as South America? Many countries share the same fossils, but they are on the other side of the word. The only way that could be is if all the continents were once together but separated by continental drift. Go on any search engine and look up images of Pangaea; it's pretty cool. It makes a lot of sense, right? I'm pretty sure Wegner is right. But is you don't believe in his theory of Pangaea or continental drift, look it up and get more research on it. I hope this was helpful and informational for you! Thanks!
What impact has continental drift have on flora and fauna of the earth?
One factor that has affected how species are distributed is the motion of Earth's continents.
Why Wegener interested in finding fossils of the same plants and animals on two different continents?
The answer is quite simple. Millions and billions of years ago, the Earth was one land. This was called Pangea. However, due to plate techtonics, they move the land around and over time, these lands split apart. After enough time has elasped, these gaps would become oceans. For example, when the continents were together as pangaea the animals roamed freely, but when they split apart the animals were split up. So a plant or animal fossil may be the same on the eastern coast of South America as it is on the western coast of Africa.
What two continents are drifting apart?
Eurasia and North America
What is the theory that all continents are fragments of Pangaea now drifting apart?
diverging boundaries
What 2 continents have the most obvious fit of the coast line?
Africa and South America have the most obvious fit of their coastlines. This is known as the "jigsaw fit" and is evidence that the two continents were once part of the same landmass before drifting apart.
What theory that continents move apart form each other?
The action of continents drifting apart from each other is called, "Continental Drift". It is no longer a theory, as it has been proven to be so. Of course, as certain continents move apart from each other, they also are moving closer to other continents.
What is the most likely position of North America's to eurasia?
Scientists theorize that the continents are still drifting apart. What will be the eventual position of North America with respect of Eurasia?
Why is the Alantic Ocean expanding?
because the continents are drifting further apart due to th oceantal crust separating under water
Have the continents on opposite sides of the Atlantic ocean generally been drifting apart?
Yes. The continents have been drifting around since Earth first got her oceans, or before. At one time, there were a group of continents clustered near what is now Antarctica . . . the entire remainder of Earth's surface was covered by oceans of water. They eventually drifted apart. The current arrangement of continents occurred fairly recently in Earth's 4.5 billion year age.
What is the supercontient that later broke apart into the seven continents found on Earth today?
The supercontinent that broke apart into the seven continents found on Earth today is called Pangaea. This breakup occurred over millions of years through the process of plate tectonics, resulting in the continents drifting apart to their current positions on the planet.
Why did Wegner think continents moved?
Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift because he observed evidence such as similar geological features, matching rock layers, and identical fossils on continents that are now widely separated. Wegener suggested that these observations could be explained by the continents drifting apart over millions of years.
What did wegener hypothesis happened to the continents?
Alfred Wegner believed that continents moved because of earth's plates shifting. Because he could not prove why they moved because of the day in age he live, most scientist didn't believe him. Now, with the science we have today, scientists have proved that our continents shift about 2cm a year.
Does the result of the continents drifting apart have something to do with the theory of continental drift?
yes. because of the sea-floor spreading making Africa and South America drift apart even more
What is the name of the theory on the continents drifting apart?
Pangea is the original super continent that broke up into the continents we know today by a process known as 'Continental Drift' proposed by a scientist named Wegener
