Volcanoes - Get the drift?
Get the drift?
After the Americas were discovered, scientists observed that Earth's continents fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The scientists believed that the continents had once been joined together in one land mass and then violently separated. In 1912, German meteorologist Alfred Wegener (1880–1930) proposed that the continents were moving apart slowly at a predictable rate. He coined the term continental driftThe theory that continents move apart slowly at a predictable rate. and conducted much research to support his theory. Many thought Wegener's idea was radical, but his suggestion that some force caused the continents to move eventually became the key to unlocking the dynamics of a volcano.
After Wegener died, the geologists who agreed with his theory took it a step further. They proposed that the radioactive decay of naturally occuring...
[The entire page is 242 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
