Science - 10

Wegener’s theory of
continental drift

Submitted by:
Arshalane Gulang
Submitted to:
Wilma Bollozos
INTRODUCTION
Scientist have studied heavenly bodies which are millions
of miles away from Earth. Equipped with powerful
telescopes and space probes they were able to reach and
examine the solar system and beyond. It seems ironic
then, that we haven’t, and we couldn’t reach the center
of our very own planet.
In Alfred Wegener theory you have learned about the
different processes and landform along plate boundaries
that slowly shaped the Earth’s surface. In Wegener
theory he used fossils evidence to support his continental
drift hypothesis. The fossils of those organisms are found
on lands that are now far apart, grooves and rocks
deposits left by ancient glaciers are found today on
different continents very dosed to the equator.
 And in his theory he also say that the continents
were once one large landmass Pangaea. This Pangaea,
evolved into how the continents look today.
Do you know that this Pangaea started to break into
smaller supercontinents called Laurasia and
Gondwanaland during the Jurassic period. And these
smaller supercontinents broke into the continents and
these continents separate and drifted apart since then.

Is this idea somehow true? If you lived during

Wegener’s time, will you believe him?
This theory of Wegener could not explain what forces
could move then, geologists rejected his ideas by using
the evidence of seafloor spreading to explain there are
many explanation why many volcano, trenches and many
geologic event may happen during the seafloor
spreading. This theory of Wegener have a connection
about the seafloor spreading? How will it possibly
happen? his theory have a connection in seafloor
spreading?
In this research will give you an idea about the theory
of Wegener and how it connect in the seafloor spreading.
So let’s know and explore more about the different
theory in the evolution.

Body
Have you had a chance to go to a mountains, stand on
it’s peak it look at the beauty that it offers? Do you think
it looks exactly the same as before? Perhaps you would
think that it might be different all plain, no plateaus, no
mountains. If it wasn’t the same 10 years ago, how much
different is it 10 million, years ago, 100 millions years
ago?
In 1912, Alfred Wegener [pronounced as Vey – Guh -
nuhr] a German meteorologist proposed at theory that
about 250 million years ago, the continents look today.
This Pangaea started to break into two smaller
supercontinents called Laurasia and Gondwanaland
during the Jurassic period. These smaller supercontinents
broke into the continents and these continents separates
and drifted apart since then.
 Wegener searched for evidence to support his claim.
He noticed the fit of the edges of the continents on the
opposite sides of the south Atlantic. His evidence to the
continental drift theory includes the distribution of fossils
in different continents, rock features and ancient
climate.
Did it really start as one big landmass? It seems very
impossible that the seven continents, which are currently
thousand of miles away from each other were actually
connected pieces of a supercontinents.

Fossil of evidence
The most visible and fascinating evidence that this
continents were once one is their shapes. The edge of
one continents surprisingly matches the edge of another:
south America , and Australia match one another:
Eurasia and north America complete the whole
continental puzzle in the north. And this is what we
called A continental jigsaw puzzle.
Fossils evidence are preserved remains or traces of
organisms from the remote post. Fossilized leaves of an
extinct plant Glossopteris were found in 250 millions
years old rocks. This fossils were located in the
continents of southern Africa, Australia, India and
Antarctica which are now separated from each other by
wide oceans. The large seeds of this plant could not
possibly travel a long journey by the wind or survive a
rough ride theory ocean waves.
Mesosaurus and Lystosaurus are freshwater reptiles.
Fossils of these animals were discovered in different
continents, such as in south America and Africa. It is
impossible for these reptiles continents to another.
Fossils were also found in Antarctica. Could it be possible
that they existed in this region where temperature was
very low? Or could it be possible that, long before,
Antarctica was not in it’s current position?
The fossils evidence of the Triassic land reptile
Lyatosaurus discovered in the continents of Africa, India,
and Antarctica
The fossils of the form Glossopteris found in all the
southern continents , show that they were once joined.
The fossils remains of the freshwater reptiles
Mesosaurus found the continent of south America and
Africa.
 The fossils remains of Cynognathus, a Triassic land
reptiles approximately 3m long.

EVIDENCE FROM ROCK

Fossils found in rocks support the continental drift
theory. The rocks themselves also provides the
continents drifted apart from each other. Rock
formations in Africa line up with that in south America as
if is was a long mountain range. Rock layers in different
continents line up together with layers that exactly
matched. The folded cape mountains of south America
and Africa line up perfectly as if they were once a long
mountain range. In south America , Africa, India
subcontinent, south east Asia and even in Antarctica
were the compaction and deposition of swamp plants
that live million years ago were the coal beds formed.
The current location of Antarctica could not sustain
substantial amount of life. If there is a substantial
quantity of coal it, thus, it only means that the Antarctica
must have been once positioned in a part of the earth
where it once supported to the idea that Antarctica once
experienced a tropical climate thus, it might have closer
before to the equator.
THE SEAFLOOR SPREADING
The question as how the drifting took place eft the
continental drift theory blurry. Despite the evidences
presented by Wegener , his idea that the continents
were once joined together was not accepted by the
scientific society until the 1960s. he wasn’t able to
explain hoe this drifting took place. This made scientists
conduct further studies in search for the answer.
During the 1950s and 1960s new techniques and
modern gadgets enable scientists to make better
observation and gather new information about the ocean
floor. With the use of sonars and submersibles, scientist
had a clearer view in the ocean floors. They have
discovered underwater features deep within the ocean.
Scientists found a system of ridges or mountains in the
seafloor similar to those found in the continents. These
are called mid-ocean ridges. One of these is the famous
mid- Atlantic ridges an undersea mountain chain in the
Atlantic ocean. It has a gigantic deft about 32-48 km long
and 1.6 km deep the ridge is offset by fracture zones or
rift valleys.
In the early 1960s, scientists Harry Hess, together with
Robert Dietz, suggested an explanation to the
continental drift. This is the seafloor spreading theory.
According to this theory, hot, less dense material from
below the earth’s. this material flows sideways carrying
the seafloor away from the ridge, and creates a crack in
the crust. The magma flows out of the crack, cools down
and becomes the new seafloor.
Overtime, the new oceanic crust pushed the old
oceanic crust, far from the ridge. The process of seafloor
spreading allowed the creation of new bodies of water,
for example, the red sea was created as the African plate
and the Arabian plate moved away from each other.
Seafloor spreading is also pulling the continents of
Australian, south America and Antarctica away from each
other in the east pacific rise. The east pacific rise in one
of the most active sites of seafloor spreading, with more
than 14 centimeter every year.
In the place where two oceanic plates collide or
where an oceanic plate and a continental plate collide, a
subduction zone occurs, as the new seafloor is formed at
the, mid- ocean ridge, the old seafloor farthest from the
ridge, is destroyed at the subduction zone.
The plate of formation of a new seafloor is not
always as fast as the destruction of the old seafloor at
the subduction zone. This explains why the pacific ocean
is getting smaller and why the Atlantic ocean is getting
wider. If subduction is faster than seafloor spreading, the
ocean gets wider.

Findings that support Seafloor spreading theory:

1. Rocks are younger at the mid- ocean ridge.
2. Rocks far from the mid- ocean ridge are older.
3. Sediments are thinner at the ridge.
4.Rocks at the ocean floor are younger than those at the
continents.
The seafloor spreading theory contradicts a part of the
continents drift theory. According to this theory,
continents moved through the unmoving oceans and
that larger, sturdier continents broke through the
oceanic crust. Where as, the seafloor spreading shows
that the ocean is the actual site of tectonic activity.

GENERALIZATION
 Alfred Wegener is a meteorologist that conduct more
studies about the continental drift. Base on his theory
the continents were once one large landmass. This
landmass called Pangaea a Greek words witch means
“ALL EARTH”. This Pangaea broke in to two smaller super
continents, it’s called Laurasia and Gondwanaland. This
two supercontinents broke into the continents and these
continents separated and drifted apart.
Wegener search for evidence to support his claim.
First he notice the fit of the edges of the continents on
the opposite side and it’s include the distribution of
fossils in different continents, rock features and ancient
climate. But this theory of Alfred Wegener didn’t explain
how the continents drifted apart. But the scientist Harry
Hess together with Robert Dietz, suggested an
explanation to the continental drift. This is the seafloor
spreading theory. According to this theory hot less dense
material from below the easrth’s crust rises toward the
surface at the mid-ocean ridges, this material flows
sideways carrying the seafloor away from the ridge and
creates a crack in the crust. This magma flows out on the
crack, cools down and become the new seafloor.
Overtime, the new oceanic crust pushed the old oceanic
crust far from the ridge. The process of the seafloor
spreading allowed the creation of the new bodies of
water. But what the causes tectonic plates to move? The
plate tectonic theory provided an explanation about the
movement of the Lithospheric plates. This theory
involved from the two former theories and was
developed during the first decades of the 20th century.
The magma rise and the new seafloor exist and it’s have
possibility that geologic event like forming of volcanoes,
earthquakes, forming of mountains and other geologic
event may happen.
REFLERCTION
In my research I learned about the different theory
like continental drift theory by Alfred Wegener he say
that the edges of the continents fit together in the side
of continents and he discover the different fossils in the
different continents . But his theory didn’t claim by the
scientist until he die, the same year he died the two
scientist conduct more study and find a strong
explanation about the continental drift, they called their
theory’s “THE SEAFLOOR SPREADING” by Harry Hess
together with Robert Dietz. When the theory of Alfred
Wegener didn’t claim the scientist, Hess and Dietz
continued the study about the continental drift they
study and using the theory of Wegener they discovered
that the less dense material from the mid- ocean ridge
subduct in to the surface on the earth and this magma
rise in the mid- ocean and formed new seafloor.
According to their theory the old seafloor is far from the
ridge and the new seafloor is located near the ridge. In
their theory they also say that the Geologic event may
happen, because of the rising magma it can also form
volcanoes, trenches, mountains, rift valleys and
earthquakes the other scientist called this movements
convergent, divergent ,transform. Convergent boundary
which two plates move toward each other, the divergent
boundary were in plates move apart, and the last one is
transform fault boundary a boundary produced when
two plates slide past each other. And after how many
years the scientist claim the theory of Wegener together
with Harry and Robert.

REFERENCE

Pubs.usgs.gov
:http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/continents.html.fossil
small.com
:http://www.geomag.bgs.ac.uk/education/reversal:html
docs/asthenosphere.html
:http://www.learner.org/course/essential/earthspace/se
ssion3/closer2.html
:http://loki.strockton.edu/~hozikm/geo/course