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The planet we live on: The beginnings of the Earth Sciences

The planet we live on: The beginnings of the Earth Sciences

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Figure 3.4: Alfred Wegener, <strong>the</strong> polar explorer and meteorologist who proposed <strong>the</strong> ‘<str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g>ory<strong>of</strong> C<strong>on</strong>tinental Drift’, as commemorated in this German postage stamp.<str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> evidence that Wegener used to support his <strong>the</strong>ory included:• <strong>the</strong> shapes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> coastlines <strong>of</strong> South America and Africa sho<str<strong>on</strong>g>we</str<strong>on</strong>g>d a very close match- just like a jigsaw puzzle;• <strong>the</strong> geology <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> two c<strong>on</strong>tinents, if <strong>the</strong>y <str<strong>on</strong>g>we</str<strong>on</strong>g>re put toge<strong>the</strong>r, also matched - like apicture <strong>on</strong> a jigsaw puzzle;• fossils <strong>of</strong> land-living organisms found in South America and Africa are very similarand it was very unlikely that <strong>the</strong>y could have evolved separately;• some modern organisms living in North America and Europe, including a species <strong>of</strong>earthworm and ano<strong>the</strong>r <strong>of</strong> hea<strong>the</strong>r, seemed to be identical; it was also unlikely that<strong>the</strong>se had evolved separately;• countries now found near <strong>the</strong> Equator have evidence in <strong>the</strong> rock record that <strong>the</strong>y<str<strong>on</strong>g>we</str<strong>on</strong>g>re covered by ice sheets in <strong>the</strong> past;• countries in nor<strong>the</strong>rn Europe and America that have rock-record evidence <strong>of</strong> pastdesert and tropical swamp c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s;• although some geologists said that <strong>the</strong> similar fossil species and seemingly identicalmodern species could be explained by ‘land bridges’ bet<str<strong>on</strong>g>we</str<strong>on</strong>g>en today’s c<strong>on</strong>tinents(c<strong>on</strong>tinents that have now sunk to <strong>the</strong> ocean floor), geophysical evidence sho<str<strong>on</strong>g>we</str<strong>on</strong>g>dthat c<strong>on</strong>tinents couldn’t sink;75

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