Which discovery first prompted a renewed interest the movement of the continents quizlet?
A renewed interest in continental drift initially came from rock magnetism. The apparent movement of the magnetic poles indicates that the continents have moved.
Why did Wegener’s theory of continental drift took decades to be accepted?
Terms in this set (24) Plate tectonics theory was widely accepted by scientists in what decade? because Wegener couldn't explain how continents moved.
What are the evidence that support the plate movement?
Evidence from fossils, glaciers, and complementary coastlines helps reveal how the plates once fit together. Fossils tell us when and where plants and animals once existed. Some life "rode" on diverging plates, became isolated, and evolved into new species.
What causes the movement of the continents?
The heat from radioactive processes within the planet's interior causes the plates to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other. This movement is called plate motion, or tectonic shift.
Which piece of evidence renewed the scientific community’s interest in continental drift?
The evidence for continental drift included the fit of the continents; the distribution of ancient fossils, rocks, and mountain ranges; and the locations of ancient climatic zones.
What evidence from paleomagnetic studies provided support for continental drift?
In this way, rocks provide a fossil compass for the study of the paleomagnetic field of the Earth. Such studies provide strong evidence for continental drift (movement of one continent relative to another) (Irving, 1964; Strangway, 1970; Tarling, 1971; Morel and Irving, 1981).
What discovery provided strong support for continental drift?
Increased knowledge about the configuration of the ocean floor and the subsequent formulation of the concepts of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics provided further support for continental drift.
Which explanation provides support for continental drift?
Continents were once one landmass and have drifted apart. Which two large landmasses formed when Pangaea first started to separate? Which explanation provides support for continental drift theory? Coal fields match up across continents.
What helped scientists develop the Theory of plate tectonics?
Evidence that led to the development of plate tectonic theory in the 1960s came primarily from new data from the sea floor, including topography and the magnetism of rocks.
What evidence supports the fact that the continents may have been connected?
Fossils of similar types of plants and animals in rocks of a similar age have been found on the shores of different continents suggesting that the continents were once joined.
What supports the theory of continental drift?
Fossil Evidence One type of evidence that strongly supported the Theory of Continental Drift is the fossil record. Fossils of similar types of plants and animals in rocks of a similar age have been found on the shores of different continents, suggesting that the continents were once joined.
What observations led to the proposal of continental drift?
What observations led to the proposal of continental drift? The matching coastlines of continents of opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean suggest that the continents were once joined.
What evidence supports the idea that all the continents were once joined together?
Fossil Evidence Fossils of similar types of plants and animals in rocks of a similar age have been found on the shores of different continents, suggesting that the continents were once joined. For example, fossils of Mesosaurus, a freshwater reptile, have been found both in Brazil and western Africa.
What were the basis of Alfred Wegener’s continental drift theory?
Wegener's continental drift theory introduced the idea of moving continents to geoscience. He proposed that Earth (opens in new tab) must have once been a single supercontinent before breaking up to form several different continents.
What did paleomagnetic evidence prove?
The paleomagnetic evidence revealed that the magnetic poles also had different locations relative to the continents than they do today. Magnetic minerals on one continent do not point to the same pole position as do those from the same time period on another continent.
How paleomagnetic evidence supports the theory of plate movement?
Paleomagnetism also provides evidence to support theories in plate tectonics. Because the ocean floor is mostly composed of basalt, an iron-rich substance containing minerals that align with the magnetic field, they record the alignment of the magnetic fields surrounding oceanic ridges.
What are the 5 evidences of continental drift?
They based their idea of continental drift on several lines of evidence: fit of the continents, paleoclimate indicators, truncated geologic features, and fossils.
How was the continental drift theory developed?
Wegener knew that fossil plants and animals such as mesosaurs (opens in new tab), a freshwater reptile found only in South America and Africa during the Permian period, could be found on many continents. He also matched up rock formations on either side of the Atlantic Ocean like puzzle pieces.
Which statement describes one of Wegener’s ideas that contributed to the theory?
Which statement describes one of Wegener's ideas that contributed to the theory of continental drift? The continents were once connected as one landmass.
What evidence did scientists use for continental drift?
The four pieces of evidence for the continental drift include continents fitting together like a puzzle, scattering ancient fossils, rocks, mountain ranges, and the old climatic zones' locations.
Which statement best supports the theory of continental drift?
One type of evidence that strongly supported the Theory of Continental Drift is the fossil record. Fossils of similar types of plants and animals in rocks of a similar age have been found on the shores of different continents, suggesting that the continents were once joined.
What causes continental drift quizlet?
a current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid. The earth's crust and upper mantle are made of huge plates slowly drifting because of convection currents in the mantle.
What evidence supported Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift?
The four pieces of evidence for the continental drift include continents fitting together like a puzzle, scattering ancient fossils, rocks, mountain ranges, and the old climatic zones' locations.
How did paleomagnetism support continental drift?
Because the magnetism of a rock is frozen into the rock at the time of its formation, the paleomagnetic poles do not move relative to the continent, and therefore, they must be moved with the continent. The continents are moved along with their paleomagnetic pole to their predrift positions.
How did Wegener use paleomagnetism to explain continental drift?
In his now iconic paper, Wegener hypothesized that the continents on the planet were once connected. They "drifted" apart from each other over geologic time. He did not have a mechanism for how this drift occurred, so he suggested the continents could plow through the oceanic plate material.
What discoveries led to a revival of Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis?
Wegener used matching rock types and ages across different continents as evidence to support his hypothesis of Continental Drift. Wegener used evidence of convection currents in the mantle as evidence to support his hypothesis of Continental Drift.
What were the 4 main evidence of continental drift?
The four pieces of evidence for the continental drift include continents fitting together like a puzzle, scattering ancient fossils, rocks, mountain ranges, and the old climatic zones' locations.
Which explanation supports the theory of continental drift?
The evidence for continental drift included the fit of the continents; the distribution of ancient fossils, rocks, and mountain ranges; and the locations of ancient climatic zones.
Which two pieces of fossil evidence support the idea of continental drift?
Observation of the fit of the continents into one large mass, Common Fossil Findings across continents, and Mid-Ocean Ridges The similarities between the Appalachian and the eastern Greenland mountain ranges are evidences for the continental drift hypothesis.
Which theory has provided explanations to Wegener’s claim of moving continents *?
Continental drift Continental drift was a revolutionary theory explaining that continents shift position on Earth's surface. The theory was proposed by geophysicist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1912, but was rejected by mainstream science at the time.