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    Continental Drift Theory

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    Teejay paul Herrera

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    Continental Drift Theory

    Uploaded by

    Teejay paul Herrera
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    1 views13 pages

    Continental Drift Theory

    Uploaded by

    Teejay paul Herrera

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 13

    Module 5: Evidences of Plate

    Movements

    Lesson 1 - Evidence of Plate Movements: Continental Drift Theory


    Lesson 2 - Evidence of Plate Movements: Seafloor Spreading Theory
    Lesson 3 - Evidence of Plate Movements: Magnetic Reversal
    Lesson 1 - Evidence of Plate Movements: • Alfred Lothar
    Continental Drift Theory Wegener (1880-1930
    Continental Drift Theory • He is remembered as
    the originator of the
    Continental Drift
    Theory by
    hypothesizing in 1912
    that the continents
    are slowly drifting
    around the Earth and
    is once a large
    landmass called
    Pangaea, a Greek
    word which means
    "All Earth."
    The figure below shows the evolution of the supercontinent Pangaea to
    the present-day distribution of continents. Can you say that continents are
    drifting?
    EVIDENCES
     fossilevidence.
     Wegener did not collect
    the fossils, but he called
    attention to the idea of
    using these scientific
    documents stating there
    were fossils of species
    present in separate
    continents in order to
    support his claim.
    GEOLOGICAL "FIT"
    EVIDENCE
     the matching of large-scale geological
    features on different continents.
     It has been noted that the coastlines
    of South America and West Africa
    seem to match up, however more
    particularly, the rock terrains of
    separate continents confirm as well.
    GLACIAL AND COAL
    DEPOSITS EVIDENCE
     Glaciers carve rocks and leave marks as they
    move. In this evidence, scientists can
    determine the direction of movement of each
    continent.
     the existence of coal deposits in Antarctica
    suggested that it was once located near the
    region of the Earth where the climate is
    enough to support complex life forms such as
    plants and tall trees.
    It shows how
    Alfred Wegener
    mapped-out the
    distributions of
    the four Permian
    and Triassic fossil
    groups and used it
    as biogeographic
    evidence for
    continental drift
    and land bridging
    MESOSAURUS
     a type of reptile, similar to the modern crocodile
     which propelled itself through the water with its long
    hind legs and limber tail
     It lived during the early Permian period (286 to 258
    million years ago), and its remains are found solely in
    South Africa and Eastern South America
     if the continents were still in their present positions,
    there is no possibility that the Mesosaurus would have
    the capability to swim across such a large body of ocean
    like the Atlantic because it was a coastal animal.

    Modern-day representation of the


    Mesosaurus.
    CYNOGNATHUS
     mammal-like reptile
     Roaming the terrains during the Triassic
    period (250 to 240 million years ago),
     as large as a modern wolf. Its fossils are
    found only in South Africa and South
    America.
     As a dominant land species, it would not
    have been capable of migrating across the
    Atlantic.
    LYSTROSAURUS
     "shovel reptile,"
     thought to have been a herbivore with a stout built
    like a pig.
     fossils are only found in Antarctica, India, and South
    Africa.
     Similar to the land-dwelling Cynognathus, it would
    not have had the swimming capability to traverse
    any ocean.

    Modern-day representation of the


    Lystrosaurus.
    GLOSSOPTERIS
     found in Australia, Antarctica, India, South
    Africa, and South America—all the southern
    continents
     be large and bulky and possibly could not have
    drifted or flown across the oceans to a
    separate continent.
     Therefore, the continents must have been
    joined at least one point in time in order to
    maintain the Glossopteris' wide range across
    the southern continents.
    260 million years
    old fossilized leaves
    of glossopteris

    Modern-day representation of the


    Glossopteris.

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