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Who first attempted to explain continental drift?
Continental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on Earth’s surface. Set forth in 1912 by Alfred Wegener, a geophysicist and meteorologist, continental drift also explained why look-alike animal and plant fossils, and similar rock formations, are found on different continents.
Who is the person who proposed the theory of continental drift?
scientist Alfred Wegener
Continental drift describes one of the earliest ways geologists thought continents moved over time. Today, the theory of continental drift has been replaced by the science of plate tectonics. The theory of continental drift is most associated with the scientist Alfred Wegener.
How did Alfred Wegener discover continental drift?
Searching for evidence to further develop his theory of continental drift, Wegener came across a paleontological paper suggesting that a land bridge had once connected Africa with Brazil. Another observation favoring continental drift was the presence of evidence for continental glaciation in the Pensylvanian period.
When was the continental drift theory proposed?
1912
The first truly detailed and comprehensive theory of continental drift was proposed in 1912 by Alfred Wegener, a German meteorologist. Bringing together a large mass of geologic and paleontological data, Wegener postulated that throughout most of geologic time there was only one continent, which he called Pangea.
What are four pieces of evidence for continental drift?
The four pieces of evidence for the continental drift include continents fitting together like a puzzle, scattering ancient fossils, rocks, mountain ranges, and the old climatic zones’ locations.
What are the 4 pieces of evidence of continental drift?
What are the four evidence of continental drift theory?
They based their idea of continental drift on several lines of evidence: fit of the continents, paleoclimate indicators, truncated geologic features, and fossils.
What evidence supports the theory of continental drift?
Evidence of Continental Drift. Some of the evidence supporting the continental drift of the tectonic plates include the presence of similar animals and plant fossils on the shores of various continents, which suggest that they were once joined. Fossils of a freshwater reptile known as Mesosaurus was found both in South Africa and Brazil.
Why was Alfred Wegener’s continental drift theory rejected?
Wegener’s Continental Drift Theory was largely rejected. The primary reason for its rejection was his inability to provide a mechanism by which the continents could move.
What was Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift?
Continental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on Earth’s surface. Set forth in 1912 by Alfred Wegener, a geophysicist and meteorologist, continental drift also explained why look-alike animal and plant fossils, and similar rock formations, are found on different continents.
What is the reason for continental drift?
The causes of continental drift are perfectly explained by the plate tectonic theory. The earth’s outer shell is composed of plates that move a little bit every year. Heat coming from the interior of the earth triggers this movement to occur through convection currents inside the mantle.