01.01 What is the evidence for continental drift and plate tectonics? Flashcards
What is Pangaea?
Pangaea or Pangea was a supercontinent that existed approximately 335 million years ago, and began to break apart about 175 million years ago.
Evidence for Continetnal Drift - Glaciation
Evidence of an Upper Carboniferous glaciation (300 million years ago) is found in the Southern Hemisphere continents from when they were part of a supercontinent called Gondwanaland near the South Pole at the time
Evidence for Continetnal Drift - Jigsaw like fit
The continental shelf outlines of the world’s continents, if pieced together, fit near perfectly with very little overlap to form a supercontinent called Pangaea, which we now know was in existence 200 MA
Evidence for Continetnal Drift - Fossil Remains
Fossil remains of a small freshwater reptile called Mesosaurus have been found in both South America and Africa. It seems very unlikely either that they could have crossed thousands of miles of ocean or evolved identically on separate continents
Who was the one that first suggested the theory of continental drift?
Alfred Wegener, a German meteorologist born in 1880, was the person that first suggested the idea of continental drift.
His idea of continetnal drift suggested that contnents moved around the Earth like giant rafts
He is now considered the father of the plate tectonic theory
Who was the one that first suggested the theory of continental drift?
Alfred Wegener, a German meteorologist born in 1880, was the person that first suggested the idea of continental drift.
His idea of continetnal drift suggested that contnents moved around the Earth like giant rafts
He is now considered the father of the plate tectonic theory
Evidence for Continetnal Drift - Coal in Antarctica
Coal is found in Antarctica; coal is unmlikely to have formed at its current latitude, as it requres tropical climates and dense vegetation to form.
When did continental drift theory evolve into plate tectonic theory
Continental drift theory evolved into plate tectonic theory in the 1960s when extensive maps were made of the ocean floor.
What is plate tectonic theory?
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that explains how major landforms are created as a result of Earth’s subterranean movements.
