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Continental Drift Hypothesis
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8.3.2 Continental Drift Hypothesis
Fossil Clues
Why Scientists Questioned Wegener:
Rock Clues
- Slow Process
- Could not explain the forces behind how the continents moved
- The seafloor is made of solid rock.
How can continents push through
solid rock?
Climate Clues
Fossils of different organisms can be found in places around the world separated by oceans
Is this a Volcano?
Wegener studied sediments from different continents
Discovered evidence of glacier features
What Was Missing?
Evidence That Continents Move
Wegener's ideas were not widely accepted
Died in 1930
Why were scientists skeptical of Wegener's hypothesis?
- Climate Clues
- Fossil Clues
- Rock Clues
This is called a fissure eruption.
Occurs when lava erupts from a long crack, or fissure, in the earth's crust.
Questions to Keep in Mind
- Why is the Earth's crust breaking apart?
- What factors determine where a volcano will form?
- How are volcanoes associated with plate tectonics?
How Did This Happen?
Pangea
Alfred Wegener hypothesized about the continental drift
Proposed that all of the continents were once part
of a supercontinent called Pangea
Over time, pangea broke apart
Look at the Outlines of Africa and South America
Notice how they could fit together like pieces of a puzzle
Continental Drift Theory
Continents are in constant motion on the surface of the Earth