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    Geology Assignment

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    Darelle Joseph Relator

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    Geology Assignment

    Uploaded by

    Darelle Joseph Relator
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    geology-assignment

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    Geology Assignment

    Uploaded by

    Darelle Joseph Relator

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    MAISIE BLANCHE BERYL A.

    LEGASPI BSCE – 2 S3

    1.) Define Continental Drift


    A ground-breaking idea that explained how continents move around on the surface
    of the Earth was known as continental drift. Alfred Wegener, a geophysicist, and
    meteorologist first suggested the theory in 1912, however it was later disproved by most
    scientists. Some of Wegener's theories were eventually proven by scientists and are now a
    part of the generally recognized theory of plate tectonics.
    In geology, the concept of shifting continents was first proposed by Wegener. The Earth
    must have originally been a single supercontinent before fragmenting into multiple different
    continents, according to his theory. This clarified how related rock structures, as well as
    fossilized plant and animal skeletons, might occur on different continents. Pangaea, an
    ancient supercontinent that Wegener theorized once existed before fragmenting some 200
    million years ago, is now acknowledged by modern science to have existed.

    2.) Give examples of evidence of Continental Drift Theory

    Besides the way the continents fit together, Wegener and his supporters collected a
    great deal of evidence for the continental drift hypothesis.

    1.) The fossil record is one sort of evidence that has been used to support
    continental drift theory. In rocks that are roughly the same age, scientists have
    discovered fossils of related species of plants and animals. Different continents'
    coastlines were where these rocks were located. It is possible that the continents
    were formerly connected in this way.
    For instance, freshwater reptile Mesosaurus fossils have been discovered in both
    western Africa and Brazil. Additionally, Antarctica, India, and Africa all include fossils
    of the land reptile Lystrosaurus.
    MAISIE BLANCHE BERYL A. LEGASPI BSCE – 2 S3

    2.) Identical rocks, of the same type and age, are found on both sides of the Atlantic
    Ocean. Wegener said the rocks had formed side-by-side and that the land had
    since moved apart.
    3.) Mountain ranges with the same rock types, structures, and ages are now on
    opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The Appalachians of the eastern United
    States and Canada, for example, are just like mountain ranges in eastern
    Greenland, Ireland, Great Britain, and Norway (figure 2). Wegener concluded
    that they formed as a single mountain range that was separated as the
    continents drifted.

    The similarities between the Appalachian and the eastern Greenland mountain ranges are
    evidence for the continental drift hypothesis.

    4.) Grooves and rock deposits left by ancient glaciers are found today on different
    continents very close to the equator. This would indicate that the glaciers either
    formed in the middle of the ocean and/or covered most of the Earth. Today
    glaciers only form on land and nearer the poles. Wegener thought that the
    glaciers were centered over the southern land mass close to the South Pole and
    the continents moved to their present positions later.
    5.) Coral reefs and coal-forming swamps are found in tropical and subtropical
    environments, but ancient coal seams and coral reefs are found in locations
    where it is much too cold today. Wegener suggested that these creatures were
    alive in warm climate zones and that the fossils and coal later had drifted to new
    locations on the continents.

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