Question

Imagine that you have been asked to write an encyclopedia entry about the movement of the earth's continents. Write a paragraph about continental movement, describing the history of this idea and citing as many pieces of evidence as you can.

Answer 1

Continental movement, often encapsulated under the theory of continental drift and subsequently plate tectonics, was first proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1915 based on several types of evidence. His theory encountered heavy skepticism until the 1960s when plate tectonics provided the necessary mechanism for the movement of continents.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept of continental movement is a pivotal aspect of earth sciences, explaining the dynamic nature of our planet's surface.

The history of this idea begins with Alfred Wegener, who, in 1915, proposed the hypothesis of continental drift.

Wegener suggested that the Earth's landmasses were once joined in a single supercontinent called Pangea about 200 million years ago.

His evidence for continental drift included the jigsaw-like fit of the continents, identical fossil species found on widely separated landmasses, parallel mountain ranges on continents now oceans apart, and paleoclimate indicators that suggested continents had moved through different climatic zones over time.

Despite presenting compelling evidence, Wegener's hypothesis was initially met with skepticism due to the lack of an understood mechanism for such drift.

It was not until the 1960s that the theory of plate tectonics provided this mechanism, explaining that the Earth's lithosphere is divided into plates that float on the semi-fluid asthenosphere beneath.

This groundbreaking theory described the movement of continents as a result of these tectonic plates' interactions, including their convergence, divergence, and transformation at their boundaries.