The theory of continental drift arose thanks to the German geophysicist and meteorologist, Alfred Wegener , who studied the different properties of the atmosphere and spent his life observing the Earth to find out how it was created and what was the origin of the world.
His most famous theory was developed since 1912 through an empirical level of observation. This Wegener theory of continental drift talked about the displacement of the continental masses relative to each other.
The theory was proposed based on the shape that the continents on both sides of the Atlantic seem to have and their perfect fit according to the scientist’s own observations. This observation led him to make conjectures about the arrangement of the current continents thinking that, billions of years ago, there would only be one continent and the planet’s earth was united in a territory called Pangea.
1960, and plate tectonics
Although Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift was created by empirical-rational formulations, it was in 1960 when it took a greater degree as a whole.
This year, from the research of scientists Robert Dietz, Bruce C. Heezen, Marie Tharp, Harry Hess or Tuzo Wilson, the theory of plate tectonics was born.
This global theory said that the phenomenon of plate displacement has happened for thousands of years due to the global convention on which the lithosphere depends to constantly reconfigure itself over time.
Wegener’s research was included here, in addition to his theory of continental drift along with others such as that of the expansion of the ocean floor.
Thanks to Alfred Wegener’s research, these more successful theories could be developed years later, which is why he is considered the forerunner of these studies on the functioning of the Earth’s plates.
Wegener tests
To carry out his theory, the German put together all the possible evidence in a thesis that came to say that the continents were kept in constant motion during all the years of world history.
Through various disciplines, he managed to create his famous theory. These tests he used were:
Geographical: He suspected that the continents had been united in the past when he saw the shapes of the coasts, especially in South America and Africa.
Geological: he gathered the continents in Pangea and discovered that mountain ranges of the same age and class of rocks existed on different continents, and therefore, according to Wegener, they had been united.
Paleoclimatic: I draw maps with ancient climates and his conclusion was that these would be inexplicable with the current disposition of the continents.
Paleontological: on different continents he discovered fossils of the same spices, such as reptiles or plants, unable to cross the oceans existing today.
