Continental drift earth science flashcards quizlet. Continental drift, largescale horizontal movements of continents relative to one another and to the ocean basins during one or more episodes of geologic time. Thanks wegener collected ancient climate information to confirm his glacial data. The earths continents have not always been where they are at present. Introduction to theory and evidence of continental drift. These notes will also be useful for other competitive exams like banking po, ssc, state civil services exams and so on. The continental drift controversy has been deeply analysed in terms of. Apr 03, 2020 the evidence for continental drift included the fit of the continents. The causes of continental drift are perfectly explained by the plate tectonic theory. Pdf a historical account of how continental drift and plate tectonics.
As a meteorologist alfred wegener was well aware of some climatological puzzles, such as the remains of temperate climate trees that can be found under polar ice. He tried to explain how the earth drifted apart, but he was unable to give a. A theory proposed by alfred wegner that said all continents were once joined 300 million years ago in a single land mass called pangaea. Evidence of the continental drift essay example graduateway.
They are carried by immense forces generated by convection currents in the liquid rock in the mantle of the planet. On the puzzle pieces handout, assign a color to each type of fossil or mountain belt in the legend and. Continental drift theory no need to take notes i have taken them for you 2. Therefore, rationalist approaches suggest that evidence can be enough by itself to close scientific controversies. Continental drift describes one of the earliest ways geologist s thought continent s moved over time. Another important piece of evidence in the continental drift theory is the fossil relevance. Science education for public underestanding program sepup. How wegeners continental drift evidence matches up with evidence for plate tectonics. Review of paleoclimate and continental drift sciencedirect. Although the evidence was extremely strong, scientists did not yet know how continents could move, so most rejected the idea. Although the evidence was extremely strong, scientists could not think of a mechanism that could drive solid continents to move around on the solid earth and most. In a few cases, the drifting fragments subsequently collided, coalesced and.
This principle was put forward by alfred wegener in 1915 when he observed that the earth plates will fit together like a puzzle with other supporting evidence. Alfred was trying to get his girlfriends father to like him. If you look at a map of the world, you might notice what alfred wegener noticed that the continents look as if they could fit together like a big jigsaw puzzle if you were able to move them around. Other paleoclimatological evidence glacial deposit evaporite coral reef coal desert dune ice movements desert tropics glacial other paleoclimatic evidence includes deposits of coal, desert. Continental drift evidence worksheet free pdf ebook. What is one example of rocks supporting continental drift. From this he began plotting worldwide distributions of both rock and fossil data that indicated tropic, desert and polar climates. In the early 20th century, wegener published a paper explaining.
Supporting evidence the earths crust is constantly moving, both vertically and horizontally, at rates of up to several inches a year. The theory of continental drift continental drift discovery the world alfred wegener theory of continental drift continental drift p95 red book, 182 in sciencesaurus theory that continents were once part of a single landmass that broke. Continental drift theory was proposed by alfred wegener in 1912. The appalachian mountains and mountains in scandinavia and the british isles are the same age with similar rocks.
The theory of continental drift was first proposed by alfred wegener in 1912. Rock types and structures rock evidence for continental drift exists in the form of several mountain belts that end at one coastline, only to reappear on a landmass across the ocean. Continental drift and plate tectonics university of iceland. Evidence for wegeners ideas on continental drift is presented on the pages that follow, and remains the root of modern continental reconstructions. Scientists can observe these movements using satellite images that show, for example, that the north. Continental drift a2 geography linkedin slideshare. However plate tectonics provides an excellent mechanism. This indicates that these continents had to be once joined together because the extensive oceans between these land masses act as a type of barrier for fossil. Continental drift is defined as the motion of the earths continents over a defined period of time.
Continental drift is a principle that explains the current position of the earths lithospheric plate. That the continents of the world all started together in a single landmass, and have since drifted apart. Continental drift is a theory originally proposed by alfred wegener, who believed the continents were once one large continent known as pangaea that later separated into several continents. Mar 12, 2020 continental drift, largescale horizontal movement of continents relative to one another and to the ocean basins during one or more episodes of geologic time. Alfred wegeners fossil evidence for continental drift is shown on the cutouts. Continental drift theory peninsular india paleontological evidence.
In this lesson, students learn about the evidence for continental drift and about the process. Complete with exam question for students to answer. Continental drift theory peninsular india paleontological. Although the evidence for continental drift was extremely strong, scientists rejected the idea because no mechanism for how solid continents could move around on the. Paleoclimatic data to be useful in the evaluation of continental drift models must generally be quantitative and globally distributed. This is called continental drift, part of the process known as plate tectonics. What are six things that supported wegeners theory of continental drift. Matching fossils fossil evidence for continental drift includes several fossil organisms found on different continents.
Evidence for the mechanism of continental drift video. Continental drift a brief history of continental drift theories continued 1944 arthur holmes suggests a mechanism for continental drift based on convection currents in the earths mantle. The speculation that continents might have drifted was first put forward by abraham ortelius in 1596. My friends and i are here to present my theory of continental drift, which i published in the year 1915. Jun 27, 2014 what is the evidence of continental drift. The evidence which gave rise to the theory of continental drift more correctly called plate tectonics includes the following. Mesosaurus small fresh water reptile glossopteris plant remains. May 14, 2017 learning objectives learn who alfred wegener was and state the theory of continental drift. Over the course of millions of year ago, this gradual.
The idea that continents may have originally occupied different positions was not a new one, but wegener was the first to present the evidence in a diligent and scientific manner. The trends of the mountains in the eastern usa and northwest europe are similar when placed in their old positions. He overestimated the rate of drift by a factor of 10. Dec 19, 2017 continental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on earths surface. Wegener and the continental drift hypothesis geology. This theory became apparent when alfred wenger identified that the edge. Over hundreds of millions of years, the continents have drifted around the globe, while the oceans have widened or narrowed accordingly. Making the evidence fit grandiose theories was the fatal flaw in old world science, chamberlin said. Matching fossils fossil evidence for continental drift includes several fossil organisms found on different continents third piece of evidence rock types and structures rock evidence for continental drift exists in the form of several mountain belts that end at one coastline, only to reappear on a landmass across the ocean. Continental drift theory continental drift is the hypothesis that all the continents had once been joined together in a single landmass. Set forth in 1912 by alfred wegener, a geophysicist and meteorologist, continental drift also. Fossils certain fossils preserved in rocks of the same age but from different continents. One of the strongest pieces of evidence is continental break upfit, this is the idea that the continents were once joined together.
The theory of continental drift is most associated with the scientist alfred wegener. Wegener was a meteorologist by training and this was an important line of evidence for him wegener could never come up with a convincing mechanism for continental drift which is why his theory never gained general acceptance. Jan 14, 20 wegners evidence for continental drift through convection currents. Living animals in widely separated lands are similar. You will be piecing together a puzzle of the supercontinent pangea based on fossil and rock evidence on the present day continents. One indication of this possibility is the appearance of the western african and eastern south american coasts, which look like two interlocking jigsaw. The german meteorologist alfred wegener 18801930 is largely credited with establishing the fundamentals of the theory that we now call plate tectonics. It was developed in the mid 1960s by geophysicists. Evidence for continental drift match each term with the best descriptor below. Today, the theory of continental drift has been replaced by the science of plate tectonics. When continental drift was considered pseudoscience.
Evidence of continental as a meteorologist alfred wegener was well aware of some climatological puzzles, such as the remains of temperate climate trees that can be found under polar ice. The concept was independently and more fully developed by alfred wegener in 1912, but his theory was rejected. In this article we will discuss about continental drift. Jan 04, 2016 introduction to theory and evidence of continental drift. The earths outer shell is composed of plates that move a little bit every year. According to wegener, these forces would become effective when applied over many million years, and the drift is continuing. Styles of thought on the continental drift debate springerlink. Wegners evidence for continental drift through convection currents.
Explanation of the continental drift theory in the light of vertebrate distribution. Continental drift theory evidences and limitations. The bulge of brazil south america seems to fit into the gulf of guinea africa. The evidence is categorized into, fossil, climate, jig saw and geological. On the puzzle pieces handout, assign a color to each type of fossil or mountain belt in the legend and color the areas on the landmasses. This concept was an important precursor to the development of the theory of plate tectonics, which incorporates it. This evidence eventually led to a mechanism for how continental movement would work. Continental drift alfred wegener teaching resources. Fossils fossils of the same animals were found on many. For the glaciers to have been present with the continents in their current positions, much of the world should have been under ice. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Learning objectives learn who alfred wegener was and state the theory of continental drift.
A powerpoint outlining the evidence for continental drift. Explain that convection currents within the earths mantle driven by heat released by natural radioactive processes because the plates to move at relative speeds of a few centimeters per year. Over time the continents moved to their present day locations. Pdf styles of thought on the continental drift debate. Over 10 million scientific documents at your fingertips. Describe the crust as broken into pieces called tectonic plates. In this article i analyse continental drift debates. He then gathered an impressive amount of evidence to show that earths continents were once connected in a single supercontinent. Continental drift notes 92014 theory of continental drift. Later on, in the 1960s new evidence from paleomagnetism was.
Continental drift qfiles the online library of knowledge. Cut out each of the continents along the edge of the continental shelf the outermost dark line. High school earth sciencecontinental drift wikibooks, open. Ncert notes on important topics for the upsc civil services exam. Wegener and his theory of continental drift springerlink.
This article talks about the continental drift theory upsc. Wegener and the continental drift hypothesis scientists still do not appear to understand sufficiently that all earth sciences must contribute evidence toward unveiling the state of our planet in earlier times, and that the truth of the matter can only be reached by combing all this evidence. The evidence for continental drift included the fit of the continents. The students will be able to identify the evidence for continental drift and locate them on a map.
Heat coming from the interior of the earth triggers this movement to occur through convection currents inside the mantle. Continental drift activity packet fossil and rock evidence on the present day continents. Fossils wegener learned that the fossils of an ancient reptile, mesosaurus mehzuhsawruhs, had been discovered in south america and western africa. A hard look at the early history of platetectonic ideas. Alfred wegener and continental drift it was not until 1912 that the idea of moving continents was seriously considered as a fullblown scientific theory called continental drift introduced in two articles published by a 32yearold german meteorologist named alfred lothar wegener alfred lothar wegener 18801930 earned a. This was the time when reptiles and winged insects first appeared. This movement also serve as evidence of the active nature of the earth. It also was a great example of how new evidence from investigations can cause an existing theory to change. What evidence is there of the continental drift theory.
Geological evidence rocks of the same age and type and displaying the same formations are found in southeast brazil and south africa. It is thought that all the continents were once joined together in one supercontinent, named pangaea. Search, discover and share your favorite continental drift gifs. A widelyheld theory that explains these movements is called plate tectonics. Wegeners continental drift meets wilsons plate tectonics. Thus, proposed in 1912 by alfred wegener, continental drift theory explained why similar looking animal and plant fossils and similar rock formations are found on different continents. The coasts of the continents surrounding the atlantic ocean could fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. There are various examples of fossils found on separate continents and in no other regions. Continental drift is the theory that the earths continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have drifted across the ocean bed. If you have any difficulty with the readability of these documents, please contact the. Continental drift, largescale horizontal movement of continents relative to one another and to the ocean basins during one or more episodes of geologic time. Evidence for continental drift wegener gathered evidence for his hypothesis from fossils, from studies of ancient climate, and from the geology of continents.
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