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Oct 19, 2023 · Learn about the theory of continental drift, proposed by Alfred Wegener, and how it relates to plate tectonics. Explore the evidence of fossils, rocks, and geology that support the idea of continents moving over time.
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Apr 15, 2024 · Alfred Wegener, German meteorologist and geophysicist who formulated the first complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis. His theory was rejected by most geologists during his lifetime but was resurrected and made a central feature of modern geology as part of the theory of plate tectonics in the 1960s.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- What is Alfred Wegener best known for?German meteorologist and geophysicist Alfred Wegener was the first person to formulate a complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis. Pr...
- What were Alfred Wegener’s contributions?Wegener noticed the similarity in the coastlines of eastern South America and western Africa and speculated that those lands had once formed a supe...
- How did Alfred Wegener impact the world?Wegener published his theory in full in 1915, but his contemporaries mostly found it implausible. By 1930 it had been rejected by most geologists,...
Apr 5, 2024 · Learn about the concept of continental drift, proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912, and its relation to plate tectonics. Explore the geologic and paleontologic evidence that supports the theory and the history of its development and acceptance.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Apr 24, 2024 · Early Evidence for Continental Drift Hypothesis. Wegener’s first evidence was that some continents’ coastlines fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. People noticed the similarities in the coastlines of South America and Africa on the first world maps, and some suggested the continents had been ripped apart.
Alfred Wegener first presented his hypothesis to the German Geological Society on 6 January 1912. His hypothesis was that the continents had once formed a single landmass, called Pangaea , before breaking apart and drifting to their present locations.
During his lifetime he was primarily known for his achievements in meteorology and as a pioneer of polar research, but today he is most remembered as the originator of continental drift hypothesis by suggesting in 1912 that the continents are slowly drifting around the Earth (German: Kontinentalverschiebung ).
Opponents of continental drift insisted trans-oceanic land bridges allowed animals and plants to move between continents [ 6 ]. The land bridges eventually eroded away, leaving the continents permanently separated.
