Continental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on Earth's surface. These plates essentially float on weaker layers of partially melted rock in the mantle below. The animation illustrates the movements of the lithospheric plates from 250 million years in the past through to the present, as well as projections of continental movements 30 million years into the future. Wegener supported his argument with five lines of evidence. Plate tectonics is the theory that explains the structure, composition and internal workings of the Earth on a worldwide scale, while continental drift refers to the theory that the continents all used to be connected in one megacontinent which scientists dub Pangaea. It explains the force behind plate movements. Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics Continental Drift As far back as 1620, Francis Bacon spotted that the west coast of Africa and the east coast of South America looked as if they would fit together, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. One of the most important contributions to the development of plate tectonic theory was Alfred Wegener's 1915 publication of 'The origin of continents and oceans' which outlined his theory of Continental Drift. These plates are constantly moving, and volcanoes and earthquakes are found at plate boundaries. Both theories attempt to explain the movement of parts of the Earth's crust. Plate tectonics Tectonic plates are pieces of the rocky outer layer of the Earth known as the crust. Plate tectonic theory teaches that the lithospheric level is split up into plates … Convection Current Theory (CCT) Convection current theory forms the basis of SFST and PT.
plate tectonics). The theory of plate tectonics argues that Earth's outer layer—the crust—is composed of large platelike sections of solid rock.
Plate Tectonics (PT) Plate tectonics is the movement of lithospheric plates relative to each other. From Continental Drift to Plate Tectonics Continental Drift Alfred Wegener, in the first three decades of this century, and DuToit in the 1920s and 1930s gathered evidence that the continents had moved. The continents, which are made of an insubmersible lightweight crust, passively drift with the movement of the lithospheric plates on which they sit.
Scientists believe that convection circulation within the mantle helps continents to move. Continental Drift Theory (Alfred Wegener, 1922) 1965 The Canadian J. Tuzo Wilson offered a fundamental reinterpretation of Wegener's continental drift theory and became the first person to use the term 'plates' to describe the division and pattern of relative movement between different regions of the Earth's surface (i.e.
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