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Alfred Wegener
Alfred Wegener proposed a theory called the continental drift hypothesis. this is where he believed that the earths continents was once originally all connected into one land mass, and over millions of years has separated across the earth into where they are now. he based these ideas on the matching coastlines from different continents and fossils that are similar from more than one 1 continent where he believed they had broken off all these many years ago. -
Alfred Wegener's further research on brazil and Africa land bridge
Wegener had unintentionally come across a report where he found more evidence for this theory as a result of the report having been about a former bridge land bridge that used to connect brazil and Africa, therefore leading to further research that he conducted with the use of geology and paleontology. He then stated it was very obvious that there was a previous land connection between the two countries and that over time they had shifted to where they are now -
Alfred Wegener's book: The Origin of the Continents and Oceans
during the time of 1915, Wegener published his hypothesis of the continental drift in his book "The Origin of the Continents and Oceans." this caught much attention to his theory and also started many debates between many scientists -
more evidence of the continental drift.
In the 1950s, study of Earth’s magnetic field had started to become more advanced and therefore with this new technology, scientists were able to do further research on his theory from all those years ago. It was found that the continents once connected but not the positioning that Wegener had thought. This was proven because there was certain minerals uncovered that were known to form in alignment with Earth’s polarity that pointed in east or west directions instead of north or south. -
seafloor spreading
in 1959 U.S. Navy officer and Princeton geology professor Harry Hess wrote a report which explained a process he called seafloor spreading. This was the mechanism for the continental drift that scientists had been longing for. He explained this is where molten rock seeps up from the Earth’s interior through mid-ocean ridges and spreads out to create new ocean floor, it then sinks back into the Earth through oceanic trenches. -
The Vine-Matthews-Morley hypothesis
In 1963, geophysicist Fred Vine and geologists Lawrence Morley and Drummond Matthews came up with the theory If a new oceanic floor is continually being created at mid-ocean ridges, then the ocean-floor rocks should record past reversals of the magnetic field. They gained this theory from the Paleomagnetists thats had determined that Earth’s magnetic field sometimes flips every so 450,000 years.
