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Plate Techtonics
All of these scientists and events contributed to finding the theory of plate techtonics. -
Alfred Lothar Wegener
Alfred Lothar Wegener first broke through to the Scientific world when he hypothesized Pangea. In 1912, Wegener proved his hypothesis by finding the same species of plants and animals on different continents. These organisms could not swim to different continents, therefore his hypothesis was true. After finding out about Pangea, Wegener went on to hypothesize about continental drift. Wegener's continental drift theory helped lead other scientists to discover plate techtonics. -
Arthur Holmes
Principals of Physical Geology was Arthur Holme's book he wrote about plate techtonics. Holmes strongley agreed with the continental drift theory which was uncommon to support at his time. Holmes hypothesized that convection currents worked with continental drift to push the continents. -
Sir Edward Bullard
Sir Edward Bullard is remembered for his dynamo theory. The dynamo theory states that a magnetic field is in Earth’s outer core, where liquid iron constantly moves. The always moving liquid creates electric currents. This is how the moving fluid turns into a magnetic field that can stay for billions of years. -
Atlantis
The ship Atlantis sailed from 1931 to 1966 in all the oceans. It is a special ship because it was built with six science labs and storage spaces, precision navigation systems, seafloor mapping sonar, and satellite communications. This equipment helped follow divergent rift valleys and volcanoes underwater. -
Hugo Benioff
One of Hugo Benioff's inventions was the Benioff seismograph which senses the movement of the Earth. A seismograph uses the vibrations of earthquakes to find out more about the earthquake. The other invention of Benioff was the Benioff strain instrument which records the stretching of the earth. Just like Wadati, Benioiff studied earthquakes in the Pacific Ocean, and the Wadati-Benioff zone is named after him. -
Kiyoo Wadati
Wadati researched suduction zone earthquakes. In 1928, he wrote a paper describing the difference between shallow and deep eathquakes. Wadati's work made such an impact on what we know about earthquakes that there is a seismic plate, the Wadati-Benioff zone, named after him. -
Alexander Du Toit
As a South African geologist, Alexander Du Toit found similarities with South African and South America. Du Toit supported Alfred Wegener's idea of continental drift. Du Toit supported Wegener's book The Origins of Continents and Oceans by writing articles. Du Toit went on to write his own book called Our Wandering Continents. There was one difference between Wegener and Du Toit's beliefs. Instead of Pangea, Du Toit thought the once supercontinent was split into two: Laurasia and Gondwanaland. -
Robert Dietz
Dietz was the scientist who realized seafloor spreading happened outward where the farthest ocean floor is the oldest. Robert Dietz is remembered for finding a fractured zone in the Pacific Ocean, Seafloor spreading has something to do with the roughness of the ocean floor. -
Harry Hess
Hess proposed the idea that the continents moved by shifting techtonic plates. As the techtonic plates moved, the continents that were on the plates moved also. Harry Hess also theorized that the farther you go from the actual divergent rift valley the older the ocean floor is. Hess theorized that the ocean floor is younger than the continents because the ocean floor was created by seafloor spreading. -
Drummond Mathews and Fred Vine
Drummond Matthews and Fred Vine wrote a paper about the magnetic reversal on the ocean floor. Every other layer of the ocean floor at divergent rift valleys are reversed. This has been reversed 175 times in 100 million years. This reversal of the magnetic fields is messing up compasses. -
Glomar Challenger
Glomar Challenger drilled in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Oil was found under sand domes, and even today we are still trying to figure out how much oil is there. The purpose of the Glomar Challenger was to explore, and it did just that. The Challenger proved continental drift and seafloor spreading at rift zones true. Scientists also found out the ocean is less than 200 million years old. The Challenger proved many theories true and introduced us to many new ideas. -
Technology
Technology has helped us find out more about the inside of our Earth, Ocean floor mapping helps us know what the ocean floor is like including divergent rift valleys and underwater volcanoes. Magnetometers help us know the strength and direction of magnitude fields. Technology has changed the way scientists look at things. Now instead of using papers and doing maps by hand, they just use the computer for a more precise map.
