Greene follows wegeners life, career and scientific contributions in chronological order. Wegeners first piece of evidence was that the coastlines of some continents fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Wegener put his idea and his evidence together in his book the origin of continents and oceans, first published in 1915. Sniderpellegrini and wegener published their arguments in 1858 and 1912, respectively. Alfred wegener aimed to create a revolution in science which would rank with those of nicolaus copernicus and charles darwin. Original world maps created by alfred wegener showing pangaea and the continents drifting apart. He included evidence that the continents had been joined.
Pdf alfred wegener the father of continental drift. Sniderpellegrinis map showing the continental fit and separation, 1858. Continental drift theory, basically means the way that resulted the present location of the continents and oceans. He is celebrated as the father of the continental drift hypothesis, the. 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. 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. Continental drift an overview sciencedirect topics.
Science, exploration, and the theory of continental drift 1st edition by mott t. The book traces his education, professional work and credentials, and explores his approach to scientific investigations not only in geography but also in meteorology and climatology, as well has his integration of data through his research to support continental drift. The one american edition of wegeners work, published in 1925, which was written in a dogmatic style that often results from german translations, was received so poorly that the american association of petroleum geologists organized a symposium specifically in opposition to the continental drift hypothesis. Wegener thought all the continents were once joined together in an urkontinent before breaking up and drifting to their current positions. In 1912, alfred wegener proposed a theory that the continents had once been joined, and over time had drifted apart. The fossils of these organisms are found on lands that are now far apart.
Wegener was a german meteorologist, geophysicist and polar researcher. A brief introduction to alfred wegeners theory of continental drift, which would lay the groundwork for the development of plate tectonic theory, which essentially explains the. Early evidence for continental drift hypothesis figure. Dinosaur fossils provide evidence for continental drift. Abraham ortelius was the first geographer who proposed this phenomenon in 1596. Wegener put his idea and his evidence together in his book the origin of continents and oceans. Alfred wegeners theory of continental drift upsc ias evidence and rejection of the theory during the second and third decades of the twentieth century, the notion of continental drift was revived, most notably by the german meteorologist and geophysicist alfred wegener. Science, exploration, and the theory of continental. Alfred wegener collected diverse pieces of evidence to support his theory, including geological fit and fossil evidence. I teach high school earth science and wagners theory of continental drift is a big part of the plate tectonics unit every year.
The speculation that continents might have drifted was first put forward by abraham ortelius in 1596. In 1915 the first edition of the origin of continents and oceans, a book outlining wegeners theory, was published. Alfred wegener, german meteorologist and geophysicist who formulated the first complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis. Continental drift brings together within one volume a discussion of the geophysical evidence relating to horizontal movements in the earths crust in its widest sense. Wegeners theory of continental drift wegener started toying with the concept of continental drift in 1910 when, looking at a new atlas, he was impressed afresh with the remarkable similarity in the coastlines across the south atlantic ocean. Wegener also found that the fossils found in a certain place often indicated a climate utterly different from the climate of today. The historian mott greene, author of the forthcoming book alfred wegener. Mott greene s new and groundbreaking book on wegener, alfred wegener. Wegener put his idea and his evidence together in his book, the origin of continents and oceans.
E book excerpt the author of the theory of continental drift the direct ancestor of the modern theory of plate tectonics and one of the key scientific concepts of the past century wegener also made major contributions to geology, geophysics, astronomy, geodesy. Alfred wegener suggested that continental drift occurred as continents cut through the ocean floor, in the same way as this icebreaker plows through sea ice. In order to read online or download alfred wegener the father of continental drift ebooks in pdf, epub, tuebl and mobi format, you need to create a free account. The theory of continental drift is most associated with the scientist alfred wegener. As greene makes clear, wegener was far from the first person to notice a jigsawlike connection between. This evidence shows that continental drift happens at an extremely slow pace. Carozzi f n 1, ueparnnent ox ueuiugy university of illinois at urbanachaapaign urbana, il 61801 the reaction in germany indicates that in spite of world war i, the geological community was very much alive. Continental drift germantown municipal school district. Today, alfred wegeners name appears in almost every geology textbook. Wegener believed that the large pieces of land we call continents move over long periods of time. Now that scientists understand plate tectonics and how the earth moves, they would be able to support wegeners theory. This is not the time for a reappraisal of the work of german meteorologist alfred wegener, but it is hoped that this volume will stimulate a serious interest in a subject formerly considered by many earth scientists as already. We cannot guarantee that alfred wegener the father of continental drift book is in the library, but if you are still not sure with the service, you can choose free trial service. Wegeners interest in the theory of continental driftor the idea of.
Various theories regarding the drift of the continents and oceans were forwarded by numerous geographers, among which the continental drift theory by alfred wegener, was considered the most valid and significant one. Unsurprising for such an approach, the book is characterized by. Science, exploration, and the theory of continental drift by greene, mott t. Even though wegener found strong evidence to support. He published his observations in a geological comparison of south america with south africa1927, and later he developed his ideas in our wandering continents1937. In the early 20th century, wegener published a paper explaining his theory that the continental landmasses were drifting across the earth, sometimes plowing through oceans and. Wegener 18801930 put forth a highly controversial theory of continental drift in the first edition of his book, the origin of continents and oceans 10. Science, exploration and the theory of continental drift, reminds us. Wegener suggested that when the organisms were alive, the lands were joined and the organisms were living sidebyside. Continental drift is the theory that the earths continents have moved over geologic time relative. All of these facts supported wegeners theory of continental drift. Continental drift theory by alfred wegener brainery. The theory was independently developed in 1912 by alfred wegener, but it was rejected due to lack of mechanism which was introduced by arthur holmes. Science, exploration, and the theory of continental drift by mott t.
Continental drift is a phenomenon which explains how the earths continents move on the surface of the ocean bed. Alfred wegener the father of continental drift ebook. But geologists soundly denounced wegeners theory of. Although he elaborated on it in later editions of his book in 1920, 1922, and 1929, the controversy persisted. For the russell banks novel, see continental drift novel. Wegener himself did not collect the fossils but he called. Dr reinhard krause, scientific historian and expert on alfred wegener photo. New editions of the book containing additional evidence were published later. The continental drift theory of wegener grew out of the need for explaining the major variations of climate in the past. This book has helped me understand where wagner was coming from and the scientists and processes that inspired his ideas. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Winner of the choice outstanding academic title of the choice acrl. In 1915 he published the origin of continents and oceans, which outlined his theory of continental drift.
Science, exploration and the theory of continental drift, adds much to the literature and literacy about one of the giants of earth science. Click download or read online button to get alfred wegener the father of continental drift book now. Alfred wegeners theory of continental drift and evidence. Wegeners interest in the theory of continental driftor the idea of continental displacement as he initially referred to itbegan when he was looking at a colleagues copy of karl andrees allgemeine handatlas in marburg in early 1911. Alfred wegener theory of continental drift found evidence for pangaea and proposed the theory of continental drift. During the second and third decades of the twentieth century, the notion of continental drift was revived, most notably by the german meteorologist and geophysicist alfred wegener. About 300 million years ago, claimed wegener, the continents had formed a single mass, called pangaea from the greek for all the earth. This book is not light reading, but for those who are interested in intellectual explorers who have made major discoveries in science, this is a very important work. There he argued for the separation of wegeners pangea into the two super continents, laurasia and gondwana. 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. Wegener used fossil evidence to support his continental drift hypothesis. Continental drift was a revolutionary scientific theory developed in the years 19081912 by alfred wegener 18801930, a german meteorologist, climatologist, and geophysicist, that put forth the hypothesis that the continents had all originally been a part of one enormous landmass or supercontinent about 240 million years ago before breaking apart and drifting to their current locations. It is important to know that the following specific fossil evidence was not brought up by wegener to support his theory.
The reaction to alfred wegeners theory tells us much about the workings of science. It appears that despite the criticism, alfred wegener was correct all along. German meteorologist and geophysicist alfred wegener was the first person to formulate a complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis. Continental drift is the theory that the earths continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have drifted across the ocean bed. Alfred wegener johns hopkins university press books. In 1915, german scientist alfred wegener published a book to present a theory he called continental drift. The idea of lateral movement of continents or continental drift was put forward in 1912 by alfred wegener in a book the origin of continents and oceans. Wegener was a member of four expeditions to greenland. In 1915 alfred wegeners seminal work describing the continental drift was first published in. Science, exploration, and the 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. The reaction in continental europe to wegeners theory of continental drift albert v.
A second problem was that wegeners estimate of the speed of continental motion. Geography for edexcel a level year 1 and as student book. Alfred wegeners continental drift theory in 1912, alfred wegener proposed a theory that the continents had once been joined, and over time had drifted apart. Previous scientists had explained the separation of the modern worlds continents as having resulted from the subsidence, or sinking, of large portions of an ancient supercontinent to form the oceans. The origin of continents and oceans dover earth science paperback december 14, 2011. The concept was independently and more fully developed by alfred wegener in 1912, but his theory was rejected by many for. Pichler pages from wegeners book with his personal notes.
1279 394 817 1200 1419 1036 941 921 103 152 795 428 924 1181 1417 746 1538 317 1009 878 1396 1334 1526 1419 1008 1439 209 582 98 455 84 1415 1007 1193 1262 2 901 65 XML HTML