Most scientists originally reject the theory of continental drift since it did clearly explain continents would move. This is a theory that has been established by Wegener and did not get good support initially.
Wegener proposed the continental drift theory, and provided scientific evidences for such, but couldn't explain the mechanism or processes behind the movement of continents. It wasn't until the mid-twentieth century with the discovery of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that the processes causing plate movements began to be understood and led to the science of plate tectonics. Wegener was also a meteorologist and this was not in his field of science, resulting in skepticism by the establishment geologists of his time.
Alfred Wegener
Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift was rejected because he lacked a plausible mechanism to explain how the continents moved. Additionally, the scientific community at the time did not have sufficient evidence to support the idea of continents drifting. It wasn't until the theory of plate tectonics emerged later, providing a mechanism and supporting evidence, that continental drift became widely accepted.
It is the Continental Drift theory, whereby the landmasses of the world today were together and are slowly drifting apart The theory was proposed by Alfred Wegener.
The theory of continental drift and plate tectonics
Most scientists originally reject the theory of continental drift since it did clearly explain continents would move. This is a theory that has been established by Wegener and did not get good support initially.
Wegener proposed the continental drift theory, and provided scientific evidences for such, but couldn't explain the mechanism or processes behind the movement of continents. It wasn't until the mid-twentieth century with the discovery of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that the processes causing plate movements began to be understood and led to the science of plate tectonics. Wegener was also a meteorologist and this was not in his field of science, resulting in skepticism by the establishment geologists of his time.
One main reason scientists rejected Wegener's theory of continental drift was the lack of a plausible mechanism to explain how continents could move through the oceanic crust. Additionally, there was insufficient evidence at the time to support the idea of continents moving over time. The theory also faced criticism due to Wegener's background as a meteorologist, not a geologist.
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. The idea was rejected at first as he was a Meteorologist and not regarded as a proper scientist.
Scientist rejected Wegners hypothesis of continental drift at first because he did not have enogh evidence to support his theory. He failed to provide a suitable mechanism that could cause the continents to move.
Alfred Wegener
Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift was rejected because he lacked a plausible mechanism to explain how the continents moved. Additionally, the scientific community at the time did not have sufficient evidence to support the idea of continents drifting. It wasn't until the theory of plate tectonics emerged later, providing a mechanism and supporting evidence, that continental drift became widely accepted.
Alfred Wegener was a meteorologist who introduced the theory of continental drift.
Alfred Wegener
alfred wegener
Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of Continental Drift in 1912.