
His father, Richard Wegener, was a classical languages teacher and pastor. Did Alfred Wegener have siblings?Īlfred Wegener was born on November 1, 1880, in Germany’s capital city, Berlin. In 1915, in the first edition of his book, Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane, written in German, Wegener drew together evidence from various fields to advance the theory that there had once been a giant continent, which he named “Urkontinent” (German for “primal continent”, analogous to the Greek “Pangaea”. 10 How did Alfred Wegener come up with continental drift?.9 What was the name of Alfred Wegener’s third daughter?.8 What is the name Alfred Wegener gave to his postulated supercontinent?.4 Who was Alfred Wegener And what did he theorize?.This evidence also led sci- entists to look again at Wegener’s theory of continental drift. Several types of evidence from the oceans supported Hess’s theory of sea-floor spreading- evidence from molten material, magnetic stripes, and drilling samples.

What are two pieces of evidence for seafloor spreading? The evidence for continental drift included the fit of the continents the distribution of ancient fossils, rocks, and mountain ranges and the locations of ancient climatic zones. What are the 5 evidences of continental drift theory? This movement in the mantle causes the plates to move slowly across the surface of the Earth. The movement is caused by the convection currents that roll over in the upper zone of the mantle. Scientists believe that Pangea broke apart for the same reason that the plates are moving today. The contradictions to accepted theories was perhaps the main reason Continental Drift was rejected. There was sufficient evidence at the time for the theory to be accepted. The lack of a mechanism for Continental Drift was the excuse for the scientific community to reject the theory of Continental Drift.

Why did other scientists disagree with Wegener? But both Galileo and Darwin had serious flaws in their theories when they were first presented. His attempt to explain it using tides only made things worse. He did not have an explanation for how the continents moved. The main problem with Wegener’s hypothesis of Continental Drift was the lack of a mechanism. What was the response to Wegener’s hypothesis? Despite publishing a large body of compelling fossil and rock evidence for his theory between 19, it was rejected by most other scientists. What other things did Alfred Wegener make towards science?Īlfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift – the idea that Earth’s continents move. … Modern geology has shown that Pangea did actually exist. Together, these discoveries supported the existence of Pangea. The rock formations of eastern North America, Western Europe, and northwestern Africa were later found to have a common origin, and they overlapped in time with the presence of Gondwanaland. … Its name is derived from the Greek pangaia, meaning “ all the Earth.” How do we know Pangea existed? Pangea, also spelled Pangaea, in early geologic time, a supercontinent that incorporated almost all the landmasses on Earth. The prevailing theory was that the continents were once connected by land bridges that have sunk, thus sharing similar flora and fauna. He finds it to be a fascinating compendium on fossils showing identical species from either side of the ocean. Two words catch his attention: ‘ Africa’ and ‘Brazil’. What caught Wegener’s attention about the Earth? 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 supercontinent, Pangaea, which had split and slowly moved many miles apart over geologic time.

He thought the force of Earth’s spin was sufficient to cause continents to move, but geologists knew that rocks are too strong for this to be true. The main reason that Wegener’s hypothesis was not accepted was because he suggested no mechanism for moving the continents. 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 Alfred Wegener explain his theory?Ĭontinental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on Earth’s surface. He went as the official meteorologist on a two-year Danish expedition. That was in 1906, the year he made his first expedition to Greenland. Wegener experimented with kites and balloons, and with his brother Kurt set a world record in an international balloon contest, flying 52 hours straight. Where did Alfred Wegener make his discoveries?
