Comparing Pangea And Wegener's Analysis

James Hutton was the first scientist to address the Earth was millions of years old, as well as alive and is continuously being formed. Charles Lyell popularized uniformitarianism, and believed the Earth was being shaped by slow moving forces. Alfred Wegener introduced the foundation for the theory of continental drift. Wegener was one of the first to recognize and have an understanding of how the Earth works which required data and information from earth sciences. In the 1960s, the theory for the continental drift became known as the theory of plate tectonics or plate building.

II: Plate tectonics shows the features and movement of the Earth. The theory of plate tectonics says that the outer shell of the earth is broken down into pieces often called plates (Korenaga). These plates hover over the mantle creating movement (Marshak). With plate tectonics you can determine the earth’s features without actually seeing it.

Who proposed that all of the present continents were once joined together in a single supercontinent called Pangaea?

The plate tectonics theory was made by a German named Alfred Wegener. He stated that a single continent existed about 300 million years ago named Pangaea and that it split into two continents of Laurasia in the north and Gondwanaland in the south. Today’s continents were formed by further splitting of the two masses.

The Plate Tectonic Theory developed in the late 1960’s, when people noticed how continents either side of the Atlantic Ocean seemed to almost fit together. Francis Bacon, an English Philosopher was aware of this as early as 1620. Topographical and geological evidence built up and allowed Alfred Wegener to publish a theory in 1912, suggesting that the continents were once all joined together in a supercontinent he called Pangaea. Wegener proposed that at some time, the land masses had drifted apart until they occupied their current positions on the globe. There was lots of evidence to support his theory including

Short went into depth when talking about the nine main plates of the Earth. The movement of these plates have caused land to separate and changed the location of continents. A great example of the power that these plates hold is when the Indo-Australian plate and the Eurasian plate came together.

of the effects of plate tectonics acting over geologic time. The story begins with the

Lord of the Flies is a 1954 novel about group of British boys stuck on an uninhabited island after their plane crashed.

Refer to the images above. Discuss in detail the two pieces of additional evidence that supported Wegener’s theory, now known as the theory of plate tectonics.

Continental drift was a theory offered by Alfred Wegener in 1912 that hypothesized that all the continents at one time fit together as one land mass. Wegener, explained that the ends of each continent could fit together like a puzzle and that over time the continents drifted apart. "The model explained why the same types of fossils occur in sedimentary rock on both sides of the vast Atlantic Ocean" (Star, 2008, pg. 250), in other words allopatric speciation. Wegener's theory did not have a supporting geological mechanism. Many years later and advances in technology brought about the plate tectonics theory. Essentially it says:

Continental drift by Alfred Wegner is the theory that “all land”, Pangaea, collided forming a single land mass, later drifting apart to form our world today. This theory, an idea used to account for a situation or justify a course of action, says that 300 million years ago the continents collided forming Pangaea. One million years later it began to separate, still moving today at an extremely slow rate. There are 5 proofs of continental drifts and two problems. The proofs are that the continents we have today fit almost perfectly together like a jigsaw puzzle. Also, similar fossils and mountain structures of similar age and structure can be found in areas not possible otherwise. There are also ice sheets in seemingly warmer countries. This

If a modern Pangea were to happen, the world would be different and it would affect many interactions. Objects in the world would be displaced. Other factors that might change may be the government, economies, societies and immigration. The relations between countries and continents would change as well. If all the continents were to collide into one supercontinent, things would have to change. These changes would be both positive and negative. Modern Pangea would be a very different place than it is today due to animals, transportation, and daily life.

Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that attempts to explain the movements of the Earth's lithosphere that have formed the landscape features we see across the globe today” (Briney). Geology defines “plate” as a large slab of solid rock, and “tectonics” is part of the Greek root word for “to build.” Together the words define how the Earth’s surface is built up of moving plates. The theory of plate tectonics dictates that individual plates, broken down into large and small sections of rock, form Earth’s lithosphere. These fragmented bodies of rock move along each other atop the Earth’s liquid lower mantle to create the plate boundaries that have shaped Earth’s landscape. Plate tectonics originated from meteorologist Alfred Wegener’s theory, developed in the early 20th century. In 1912, he realized that the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa appeared to piece together like a jigsaw puzzle. He further examined the globe and deduced that all of Earth’s continents could somehow be assembled together and proposed the idea that the continents had once been linked in a single supercontinent called Pangaea. To explain today’s position of the continents, Wegener theorized that they began to drift apart approximately 300 million years ago. This theory

We all know Alfred Wegner whether you believe him or not he’s here to stay.

Plate Tectonics is a scientific theory which study how the Earth’s plates are driven and shaped by geological forces to keep them in constant movement. The theory explains the present-day tectonic behavior of the Earth, particularly the global distribution of mountain building, earthquake activity, and volcanism in a series of linear belt. (Pitman, W.C., 2007)