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Sebastian Sirotin Science Yuen 17/01/2012

The Theory of Continental Drift and the Scientific Revolution which Followed In 1910 a man named Alfred Wegener was leafing through books when he noticed a profound similarity between the coastlines of Africa and South America: this startling realization, which he later expanded into a full-fledged theory about the Earths development, would later cause a scientific revolution. A scientific revolution is when a new discovery in science threatens to discredit a long held belief. This type of change in scientific theory also usually encounters strong opposition. Alfred Wegeners theory of continental drift states that millions of years ago all of the Earths continents formed one super continent called Pangaea. He also said that they later drifted into their current locations. Hence the theorys name Continental Drift. Wegners theory was considered groundbreaking and controversial during its initial presentation and for much of his career he was forced to defend himself against critics.

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Wegener first thought about continental drift in a library while looking through books. After comparing the coastlines of Africa and South America he began to look at the other continents and how they might fit together. This led him to develop a comprehensive Theory of

Continental Drift which stated that over millions of years, the land masses of the Earth moved until they formed the continents as we know them today. He presented the theory in 1912 at a meeting of the German Geological Association (James S 5). There was strong opposition from critics of the theory. The Fixists, the opposers of Continental Drift, then pointed out that the continents did not fit exactly. In reply, Wegener pointed out that although the surface of the continents do not fit together well, the continental shelves do.

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Wegner also used fossil records and marsupials to back up his conclusions. When looking at the fossil records of Africa and South America he cited one specific fossil that was known for its rarity; it only lived in Africa and South America. The fossilized dinosaur was named

Mesosaurus

Mesosaurus. Mesosaurus was a small dinosaur and it could not travel far without being eaten. It was found only in select areas. Wegener explained that the dinosaur must have been able to access both places. He said that Africa and South America must have been extremely close together. How else could the dinosaur live and move between the two continents? In reply the Fixists claimed that there must have been a land bridge connecting the continents that had subsequently sunk. Wegener also looked at marsupials and their rarity. Most marsupials only live in Australia. Why had they never migrated? Wegener said that they lived in Australia but had not had the chance to migrate elsewhere because when Pangaea broke apart they were stuck there. The Fixists simply said that there was another land bridge between Australia and Asia and that it too had sunk. To find more evidence Wegener looked to geology. He found that a mineral connection in the

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diamond trail in South America and Africa which had diamonds of the same quality, type, and material. Also, Wegener compared the stratigraphic columns (the layers of rock) of Africa and South America. He found that the older layers were almost identical but as the layers became younger they were began to change. Based upon this evidence, Wegener theorized that the older layers came from when the two continents were one and the younger layers appeared once they have split. In the end Alfred Wegener was close to the truth in some specifics but wrong in his overall theory of continental drift. All his evidence was true, but instead of continents drifting across the sea like boats they were on humongous plates that are recycled. This is called sea floor spreading. Sea floor spreading was discovered by Harry Hess during WWII while he was mapping the ocean floor. While in the mid-Atlantic he noticed a gigantic ridge, which was later called the mid-Atlantic ridge, upon investigation he found that rocks nearer to the ridge were younger and the rocks farther away were older. This meant that the plate there was being made larger. This discovery paved the way for tectonic plate theory. The discovery of tectonic plates has made a huge impact upon our understanding of earthquakes and volcano formation. As well as how ridges and trenches are formed. Sea floor spreading has taught us that earthquakes often occur in areas where two plates

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meet, catch, and then slip past each other with great force. Obviously this means that this often occurs on the edges of plates. We have also learned that volcanoes form in areas where the plates are being expanded as tectonic plates are being recycled. However, there are certain places where this recycling occurs. The plate increases its mass along ridges. As the volcanoes erupt the magma cools quickly and it is added to the plate. The Earth also re-uses its magma in areas where subduction occurs. Subduction occurs in trenches. Over the years there have been many scientific revolutions. This has been one of the greatest since the debate over whether the Earth was flat and whether the Earth was the centre of the universe. This revolution was begun by a man in a library. Who knows where another may re-occur.

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Works Cited Diamonds as an investment. N.d. Masters of Trivia Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2012. <http://www.mastersoftrivia.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/diamonds.jpg>. Mesosaurus. N.d. geoclassics.com. geoclassics.com. Web. 17 Jan. 2012. <http://www.geoclassics.com/mesosaurus_4200_a.JPG>.

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Pangaea about 225 million years ago. N.d. Essay Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2012. <http://essayweb.net/geology/timeline/images/pangaea.png>. tectonic plates map print this map. N.d. World Atlas. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2012. <http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/tectonic.gif>. Alfred Wegener, History of Geology. James S. Aber. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. <http://www.academic.emporia.edu/aberjamer/histgeol/wegener/wegener.html>

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