The continental migration theory was a revolutionary theory that explained that continents repositioned on the surface of the earth. This theory was proposed by geophysicist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1912, but was rejected by mainstream science at the time. Scientists confirmed some of Wegener’s ideas decades later. This is now part of a widely accepted theory. Plate tectonics..
Wegener’s theory of continental drift introduced the idea of moving the continent to earth science.He suggested it Earth It must have once been a single supercontinent before it split to form several different continents. It explained how similar rock formations and fossil flora and fauna could exist on different continents.Modern science recognizes what is called this ancient supercontinent Pangea As Wegener theorized, it existed before it disbanded about 200 million years ago.
Related: A huge supercontinent will be formed hundreds of millions of years from now
Why did scientists reject Wegener’s theory of continental drift?
Geologists blamed Wegener’s theory of continental drift after Wegener published details in a 1915 book.Origin of the continent and the seaPart of the dissenting opinion was that Wegener did not have a good model to explain how the continent moved. Scientists later explained under the umbrella of plate tectonics. The theory is that the Earth’s crust is destroyed by plates that move over rocky inner layers.Called Mantle..
“The main objection to continental drift is the irony that there is no mechanism and plate tectonics was accepted without it,” said Henry Frankel (1944–2019), an emeritus professor at the University of Missouri. Kansas City and Volume 4 Author “Continent migration controversy“(Cambridge University Press, 2012) previously told Live Science.
Most of Wegener’s observations of fossils and rocks were correct, but he was surprisingly wrong in some important respects. For example, Wegener wondered if the continent had cultivated the oceanic crust, much like an icebreaker would crush ice.
Evolving theory
Many geologists were contractionists when Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift. According to Frankel, they believed that the incredible mountains of Earth were created because our planet had been cold and shrinking since its formation. And to explain the same fossils found on continents such as South America and Africa, scientists have summoned an ancient overpass that has now disappeared under the sea.
Researchers discussed overpasses until the plate tectonics theory was developed in the 1950s and 1970s, Frankel said. For example, when geophysicists began to realize that continental rocks were too light to sink to the ocean floor, Frankel falsely suggested that prominent paleontologists instead overestimated the similarity between fossils. Stated.
Plate tectonics is like the latest update to the theory of continental drift. According to the 1960s, scientists discovered plate edges through a seismic listening network built to monitor seafloor magnetic surveys and nuclear tests. Britannica Encyclopedia..Alternating pattern of seafloor magnetic anomalies shown Seafloor spreading, The place where new plate materials are born. Magnetic Minerals from the ancient rocks of the continent also showed that the continents were moving to each other.
Related: Plate tectonics is 3.6 billion years old and reveals the oldest minerals on earth
What is the evidence of continental migration?
Maps of continents influenced Wegener’s quest to explain the geological history of the Earth. He was intrigued by the link between the coastlines of Africa and South America. Wegener then collected an impressive amount of continental drift theory to show that the continents of the Earth were once connected by a single supercontinent.
Wegener MesosaurusFreshwater reptiles, found only in Permian South America and Africa, have been found on many continents. He also matched the rock formations on either side of the Atlantic Ocean like pieces of a puzzle. For example, the Appalachian Mountains (USA) and the Caledonia Mountains (Scotland) are as harmonious as the Karoo Formation in South Africa and the Santa Catarina Rock in Brazil.
In fact, when the plates move together, the highest mountain in the world, the Himalayas, is created and the mountains are still growing because the plates are pushed together. National Geographic.. Despite his incredible evidence of continental drift, Wegener never lived to see his theory more widely accepted. He died in 1930, just two days after his birthday, at the age of fifty. Greenland, by University of California, Berkeley...
Additional resources
This article was updated on December 14, 2021 by Live Science staff writer Patrick Pester. An additional report by Live Science contributor Alina Bradford.
Continent Movement Theory: A groundbreaking theory of moving continents
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