Transcript Notes- History of Tectonics

The History
of Plate
Tectonics
1500’s: Abraham Ortelius
• Ortelius was a famous mapmaker
• Noticed that S. America & Africa “fit” together
See how they fit like
puzzle pieces?
1500’s: Abraham Ortelius
• Thought the continents used to be together
– Figured earthquakes and floods tore them apart
• Was the first theory of its kind
• He was wrong, but it’s OK
– He was on the right track
He used his noggin!
1890’s: Eduard Suess
• Discovered an ancient continent:
• Gondwanaland
It’s Dr. Suess!
• Gondwanaland was made of the southern
continents
Some activists want
to bring it all back
together again.
1890’s: Eduard Suess
• Suess found the same fossils on
several continents
• He figured they must have been connected
1912: Alfred Wegener
• Wegener came up with the first theory with
good, reliable proof
• Was a meteorologist
• He studied ancient climates
• He also liked geology
• He loved to smoke his pipe
He died young, tobacco kills.
1912: Alfred Wegener
• Theory of Continental Drift- 1912
– All continents were once
joined together
– Supercontinent was
called Pangaea
(means “One Earth”)
1912: Alfred Wegener
225 million years ago
Present Day
Why was Alfred more believable?
#1: Fossil Evidence
– He found several types of fossils in far away
places.
Why was Alfred more believable?
Why was Alfred more believable?
#2: Rock Formations
– Rocks in South America and Africa are
exactly the same
– North America and Europe have the same
rock formations too
Why was Alfred more believable?
#3: Ancient Climate Evidence
– Coal only forms in tropical swamps
– Alfred found coal in Antarctica
• It must have been near the equator at one time
Why was Alfred more believable?
#3: Ancient Climate Evidence
– Alfred found rocks left by glaciers near the
equator
– These areas must have been near the poles
at some time
Scientists in 1912 Hated the
Theory of Continental Drift
Two Reasons Why:
#1: Alfred couldn’t explain WHAT made
huge continents move.
#2: Alfred thought continents “plowed”
through the oceans.
• This is impossible, the continents would fall apart.
What happened to
Alfred Wegener?
• Continued to study
climates
• Died at 50 during a heroic
rescue mission to
Greenland.
• Explorers found his
frozen body a year later
Alfred & an Inuit guide
during his fateful last mission