alfred wegener theory of plate tectonics

Chamberlin, a very intelligent, well educated, and experienced academic, proved to be quite stupid, i.e., someone who thinks he knows it all and who absolutely refuses to keep an open mind, particularly in the face of credible scientific research. geologist with the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. One of the most consistent critics of Wegener’s continental drift theory was Thomas Chamberlin, a prominent U. it becomes very apparent that the surest test of its validity lies in the domain of geology.” Critics of the Theory of Continental Drift

Nevertheless, the then collective received wisdom of the world’s scientific community was skeptical at best, offering various counter-theories to explain or refute the arguments Wegener put forth, yet tempering their criticisms with the safe argument that “. ” as evidence that Wegener’s theory had merit. It has moved west by almost four-fifths of a mile (1,300 meters) in 37 years.” The article also cited “The almost universal distribution of many families of animals, birds, insects, and plants as proved both by fossils and surviving specimens. The New York Times wrote about Wegener’s theory of continental drift in an extensive article on Sunday, 25 March 1923, commenting that “. In 1924, he took up the position of professor of meteorology and geophysics at the University of Graz, in Austria, where he continued until his death in 1930. In 1921, Wegener accepted the position of meteorologist at the German Naval Observatory in Hamburg and the University of Hamburg appointed him senior lecturer however, the worldwide scientific community continued to sneer at his continental-drift hypothesis and writings on continental-drift and he keenly felt the academic isolation at the University of Hamburg. When not trudging through Greenland’s ice and snow, Wegener taught meteorology, first at the University of Marburg, beginning in 1909, where he covered meteorology, astronomy, and a topic he called “astronomic-geographic position-fitting” for explorers, i.e., how not to get lost in unchartered territory. His body and effects are supposedly now covered by more than 100 meters of ice and snow. He focused on the arctic regions and polar air circulation, particularly in Greenland, and took part in several expeditions to that remote, ice-covered island, first in 1906, then in 1912, 1929, and, finally, in 1930, during which expedition he died at only 50 years of age.

in astronomy in 1905 however, Wegener developed an enthusiastic and abiding interest in paleoclimatology, the scientific study of the climates of past ages. The University of Berlin awarded Wegener a Ph.D.

This concept was an important precursor to the development of the theory of plate tectonics, which incorporates it. Continental drift is defined as the large-scale horizontal movements of continents relative to one another and to the ocean basins during one or more episodes of geologic time. During an early summer after-concert party at Carnegie Hall in 1971, a clearly relieved Carole King, riding an emotional high after the successful reception of her very first pop concert, told a Rolling Stone stringer, perhaps jokingly, that Alfred Wegener inspired the lyrics for her classic hit (“der Schlager”) I Feel the Earth Move! We’ll probably never know if Ms King was serious however, who can say the claim itself is not on firm ground?Īlfred Lothar Wegener (01 November 1880 ― ? November 1930) was a German meteorologist and geophysicist who carefully devised and articulated (1910-1915) the concept of continental drift, a scientific hypothesis that other scientists rejected for several decades, but which ultimately gave rise to the theory of plate tectonics―now accepted almost universally by scientists and laymen alike.

Alfred wegener theory of plate tectonics