Use the following terms to complete the sentences (12 pts): fossils ice flow Bri

Question

Use the following terms to complete the sentences (12 pts):

            fossils                                      ice flow                        British Isles      Pangaea

            mountain chain                       ice sheets                    Antarctica        convection

            glacial grooves                        Caledonia Mountains              Africa & South America

            Continental Drift

Alfred Wegener, a German geophysicist and climatologist, hypothesized that the continents we know today once existed as a single supercontinent he called _____. He formulated this hypothesis over the course of his career piecing together a large body of compelling evidence. Like most of his contemporaries, Wegener discounted the apparent fit of the coast lines of _____as mere coincidence. He began to re-evaluate this apparent fit upon discovery of identical ______ found in the same rock strata on both continents. Further similar rock assemblages found in the Appalachian Mountains of North America, on the _______ and in the_____ of Scandinavia suggested that these land masses were once connected to form a single _____. Wegener also included paleoclimatic evidence of sediments, and _____ in the bedrock that indicated _____ once existed on India, southern Africa, the west coast of southern South America, and on southern Australia. To explain the patterns of _____ direction, Wegener re-oriented then connected these continents to _____ and shifted the supercontinent toward the south pole.

Wegener’s hypothesis called _____ was discounted until the 1960’s for a variety of reasons among which was insufficient evidence to support his hypothesis that _____ in the mantle would break the continents and cause them to move.

Explanation / Answer

Alfred Wegener, a German geophysicist and climatologist, hypothesized that the continents we know today once existed as a single supercontinent he called Pangaea. He formulated this hypothesis over the course of his career piecing together a large body of compelling evidence. Like most of his contemporaries, Wegener discounted the apparent fit of the coast lines of Africa and South America as mere coincidence. He began to re-evaluate this apparent fit upon discovery of identical fossils found in the same rock strata on both continents. Further, similar rock assemblages found in the Appalachian Mountains of North America, on the Caledonian mountains and in the ice sheets of Scandinavia suggested that these land masses were once connected to form a single mountain chain. Wegener also included paleoclimatic evidence of sediments, and glacial grooves in the bedrock that indicated Antarctica once existed on India, Southern Africa, the West coast of southern South America and on Southern Australia. To explain the patterns of ice flow direction, Wegener re-oriented then connected these continents to British Isles and shifted the supercontinent towards the south pole. Wegener's hypothesis called Continental drift was discounted until the 1960s for a variety of reasons among which was insufficient evidence to support his hypothesis that convection in the mantle would break the continents and cause them to move.

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