During this vast time of the split of pangea the sea waves have been continuously. Wegener said that continents move around on earths surface and that they were once joined together as a single supercontinent. The name is derived from ancient greek pan all, entire, whole and gaia mother earth, land. Learn geology chapter 2 questions with free interactive flashcards. Pangaea was the first reconstructed supercontinent and its global ocean was accordingly named panthalassa. Alfred wegener published a book proposing that the continents had been connected. His theory was rejected by most geologists during his lifetime but was resurrected and made a central feature of. More than a century ago, the scientist alfred wegener proposed the notion of an ancient supercontinent, which he named pangaea sometimes spelled pangea, after putting together several lines of. Alfred wegener proposed that the continents were once united into a single supercontinent named pangaea, meaning all earth in ancient greek. Pieces of fossil that were found in africa and south america are very similar, almost identical, and it would have been difficult for them to stay in tact, if they had.
Alfred lothar wegener b 1111880 in berlin, d 2111930 in greenland was born in germany where his father was a minister. This recognition is rather recent since about the early 1970s, when plate tectonics became a unifying theory to explain the origins of continents, oceans, mountains, volcanism and many other geologic processes. This isnt completely accurate, so bear with me damnit i decided to talk a stroll around the woods, cuz why not. Many men with a 3 personality are very handsome, and women are often strikingly beautiful. That is the true value of this exceptional book, to be able to feel as though one can literally experience the scientific genius that was alfred wegener. Learn chapter 5 plate tectonics with free interactive flashcards. To learn more about plate tectonics, read the books i used as references listed below. Get an answer for what is a description of wegener and what did he theorize. 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 apart and have moved to their present locations.
Alfred wegener s theory was that once the continents had been joined together, and that somehow, the continents had drifted apart. Pangea continent map continental drift supercontinent. We really are one world, according to the findings of alfred wegener, a. Alfred lothar wegener was a german polar researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist. Information from its description page there is shown below. Wegener picked up on many arguments voiced by others of the time and as. Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. Alfred wegener johns hopkins university press books. He studied the natural sciences at the university of berlin, receiving a doctorate in astronomy in 1904. Alfred wegener wegener, alfred, 18801930 the online. The alfred wegener institute for polar and marine research in bremerhaven, germany, was established in 1980 on his centenary. Alfred wegener was the first to offer evidence that our continents were once one great land mass.
He was famous with his kontinentalverschiebung or theory of continental drift that he. Without a mechanism for continental drift to occur, it was discarded until the earlymid 1960s when it resurfacedunder a new name, with a mechanism, plate tectonics. Winner of the choice outstanding academic title of the choice acrl. His wit and sparkling personality make alfred wegener the life of a party. Alfred wegener proposed the theory of continental drift the idea that the earths continents move over hundreds of millions of years of geologic time long before the idea was commonly accepted. He was born on 1 november 1880 and passed away on november 1930. Alfred wegeners handwritten diaries cover his three main greenland expeditions between 1906 and 1931. I tried to avoid terms employed in plate tectonics but soon found it difficult not to occasionally use the term plate for scholle. The german geophysicist and polar explorer alfred l. Apr 26, 2017 alfred lothar wegener was a german scientist, geologist, and meteorologist.
Jul 12, 2014 facts about alfred wegener wegener during expedition facts about alfred wegener 9. One of the most important contributions to the development of plate tectonic theory was alfred wegener s 1915 publication of the origin of continents and oceans which outlined his theory of continental drift. About 300 million years ago, claimed wegener, the continents had formed a single mass, called pangaea from the greek for all the earth. Continental driftpangaea theory explained with pangea map. He is most notable for his theory of continental drift, which he. Alfred lothar wegener 1 november 1880 november 1930 was a german scientist and meteorologist. In the early 1900s, alfred wegener proposed the idea of continental drift. For the first time in history, the theories of continental drift, supercontinent, and pangaea came into being. Alfred proposed that the continents that look like this now. Asked in drifting, plate tectonics what was the supercontinent in the continental.
Wegener supported his argument with five lines of evidence. Nov 06, 2017 german meteorologist alfred wegener first presented the concept of pangea meaning all lands along with the first comprehensive theory of continental drift, the idea that earths continents slowly move relative to one another, at a conference in 1912 and later in his book the origin of continents and oceans 1915. The name pangaeapangea is derived from ancient greek pan, all, entire, whole and gaia. However, wegeners hypothesis lacked a geological mechanism to explain.
Science, exploration, and the theory of continental drift greene, mott t. Today, alfred wegener s name appears in almost every geology textbook. It was a hypothesis that continents move around the world over time. Alfred wegener wegener is known for coming up with the original idea that the continents fit together like pieces of a puzzle. The term pangaea appeared in 1928 during a symposium in tulsa, oklahoma, to discuss alfred.
Alfred wegeners hypothesis about pangaea thoughtco. In addition, a variant spelling of pangaea is pangea. Does the bible say that there was once a pangea pangaea. He later developed the theory of continental drift to explain the shapes and positions of continents and coined the title pangea at a symposium in 1927 on the topic. In 1912 the father of the theory of continental drift, alfred wegener, cited geographical, geological, and paleontological evidence and proposed that some 200 million years ago the worlds continents were all joined into a single supercontinent which he called pangea all the earth. The original document can be found at the archives of the deutsches museum. Pangea this animated documentary tells the story of polar explorer alfred wegener, the unlikely scientist behind continental drift theory. However, 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. The separation of the continents became known as continental drift. The name gondwanaland was coined by the austrian geologist eduard suess in. Learn geo 101 chapter 2 with free interactive flashcards. The name pangaea appeared in 1928 during a symposium to discuss alfred wegeners theory of continental drift. Alfred wegener was the first person to propose that all the continents were once connected together in a supercontinent, known as pangaea.
Its name is derived from the greek pangaia, meaning all the earth. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. How was alfred wegners theory on continental drift wrong. The name of the floral fossils wegner used for the idea of continental drift was glossopteris. Alfred wegener wegener, alfred, 18801930 a wikipedia article about this author is available wegener, alfred, 18801930. German climatologist and geophysicist who, in 1915, published as expanded version of his 1912 book the origin of continents and oceans. In 1914, alfred wegener, a german meteorologist, published a book that hypothesized that the positions of the continents have drifted over the face of the earth over geologic time. One of the projects that i assigned the students is called the pangaea project. The supercontinents name was coined during a 1927 symposium discussing alfred wegener s theory of continental drift. Facts about alfred wegener were a meteorologist, polar researcher and geophysicist from germany. Excerpts and readings on alfred wegener 18801930 biographical note.
A masterful biography of alfred wegener 18801930, the german scientist who discovered continental drift. Pdf alfred wegenerfrom continental drift to plate tectonics. When german meteorologist alfred wegener first proposed his groundbreaking theory of continental displacement, later called continental drift, in 1912, his geologist peers rejected his theory because the field of geology at the turn of the century was based in 18th and 19thcentury observations about the nature of the earth and the planets development. Despite citing multiple lines of evidence, few geologists and geophysicists were convinced and the idea quickly faded. Alfred wegener the theory of continental drift smartergerman. Alfred wegener aimed to create a revolution in science which would ra. Alfred wegener was born in berlin on november 1, 1880. The name pangea comes from an ancient greek word meaning all lands. The origin of continents and oceans dover earth science. The continental drift hypothesis was developed in the early part of the 20th century, mostly by alfred wegener. Pangaeashape was true shape of you, by ed sheeran wegener from the german place he had an idea that continents once lets go he told his. In his book the origin of continents and oceans, wegener foretold. Nov 29, 2012 a brief introduction to alfred wegener s theory of continental drift, which would lay the groundwork for the development of plate tectonic theory, which essentially explains the geology of the earth.
While traveling and researching wegener discovered that some fossils and rocks from one climate did not necessarily match that particular climate, but seems to have traveled from another climate. In 1912 a german meteorologist named alfred wegener 18801931 hypothesized a single protosupercontinent that divided up into the continents we now know because of continental drift and plate tectonics. The historian mott greene, author of the forthcoming book alfred wegener. Wegener was a german geophysist and meteorologist who developed the hypothesis of continental drift in the early 20th century. This hypothesis is called pangaea because the greek word pan means all and gaea or gaia or ge was the greek name of the divine personification of the earth.
In 1915 the first edition of the origin of continents and oceans, a book outlining wegeners theory, was published. Alfred wegener aimed to create a revolution in science which would rank with those of nicolaus copernicus and charles darwin. The idea was not quite correct compared to the plate tectonics theory of today but his thinking was on the proper track. In 1912 alfred wegener 18801930 noticed the same thing and proposed. Wegeners evidence, in concert with compelling evidence. Du toit, a south african geologist, in his 1937 book our wandering continents. What are the four proofs of alfred wegener s theory of. Alfred wegener, german meteorologist and geophysicist who formulated the first complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis. A german meteorologist called alfred wegener proposed the pangaea theory in 1912.
The origin of continents and oceans by alfred wegener. As the early explorers sailed the oceans of the world, they brought back information about new continents and their coastlines. Pangeas existence was first proposed in 1912 by german meteorologist alfred wegener as a part of his theory of continental drift. Choose from 500 different sets of chapter 5 plate tectonics flashcards on quizlet. The three pieces of evidence that alfred wegener used to support his theory that the earths continents were once joined together as one large continent, called pangaea, were. The term pangaea appeared in 1928 during a symposium in tulsa, oklahoma, to.
Born on november 1, 1880, alfred lothar wegener earned a ph. In 1886 his family purchased a former manor house near rheinsberg, which they used as a vacation home. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the origin of continents and oceans dover earth science. Continental drift one of the most exciting theories in earth science began with observations made more than 400 years ago. Includes insight into what makes a person such as wegener a geniuswhat it was about him that led to an ability to create such a novel and correct view of nature. Winner of the choice outstanding academic title of the choice acrl alfred wegener aimed to create a revolution in science which would rank with those of nicolaus copernicus and charles darwin. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository.
Pangea is the concept that all of the land masses of the earth were at one time connected as one giant supercontinent. Feb 08, 2009 it wasnt wrong, he just didnt have anything to prove his theory another problem was that flaws in wegener s original data caused him to make some incorrect and outlandish predictions. What general direction did south africa drift away from. 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 the theory of continental drift by hypothesizing in 1912 that the continents are slowly drifting around the earth. His father, richard wegener, was a theologian and teacher of classical languages at the berlinisches gymnasium zum grauen kloster. Science, exploration, and the theory of continental drift. Here is a video i created for my 6th grade science students to help them study.
He is celebrated as the father of the continental drift hypothesis, the forerunner of plate tectonics. As a child he was always very keen on outdoor activities and loved hiking walking and skating. He is most notable for his theory of continental drift kontinentalverschiebung, proposed in 1915, which hypothesized that the continents were slowly drifting around the earth. His ideas centered around continents moving across the face of the earth. Foremost in this effort was to show wegener s thinking and his construction of the continental drift argument. In that sense, many authors suggest that alfred wegeners theory of the original supercontinent pangea and the subsequent continental displacements finally reached a consensus when irrefutable. The name pangaea pangea is derived from ancient greek pan, all, entire, whole and gaia. Alfred wegener, a german geophysicist, theorized in 1912 that the earths continents could fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and that they are currently drifting apart at very slow rate. Pangaea, also known as pangea, existed as a supercontinent during the late paleozoic and early mesozoic time periods. What was wegener unable to explain about continental drift. This term was first used in the early 20th century when alfred wegener noticed that the earths continents seemed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. This week we have been talking about plate tectonics and pangaea.
Alfred wegener was born in berlin on 1 november 1880 as the youngest of five children in a clergymans family. Pangea is the name of the supercontinent that existed through most of the paleozoic. Alfred wegener 18801930 was a german scientist, geophysicist and. Although alfred wegener was not the first to suggest that continents have moved about the earth, his presentation of carefully compiled evidence for continental drift inspired decades of scientific debate. Alfred wegener s most popular book is the origin of continents and oceans. Wegeners drift theory seemed more plausible than land bridges connecting all. For this virtual exhibition, the diaries have been completely digitized and are available for the first time as a. The origin of continents and oceans dover earth science kindle edition by wegener, alfred. Choose from 500 different sets of geo 101 chapter 2 flashcards on quizlet.
His theory turned out to be right, and his theorys name. They are to create a new world that shows alfred wegener s 3 key pieces of evidence that he used to come up with for the continental drift theory. Pangaea was chosen for the name because it means whole. Oct 07, 2012 an accepted theory in todays scientific community is that, at one time in earths history, all of the continents formed one super continent. That theory was that all of the continents were once joined together to make one giant land mass. This animated documentary tells the story of the polar explorer alfred. He suggested that pangaea broke up long ago and that the continents then moved to their current positions. The biblical view of pangea good news christian news. He envisioned a single great landmass, pangaea or pangea. In 1915, however, one of the most influential and most controversial books in the history of science provided a new solution. Fun fact alfred wegener was the first person to announce that the seven continents used to be one whole, and called it the pangaea. German meteorologist alfred wegener first presented the concept of pangea meaning all lands along with the first comprehensive theory of continental drift, the idea that earths continents slowly move relative to one another, at a conference in 1912 and later in his book the origin of continents and oceans 1915.
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