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Continental drift is the scientific theory, originating in the early 20th century, that Earth's continents move or drift relative to each other over geologic time. [1] The theory of continental drift has since been validated and incorporated into the science of plate tectonics, which studies the movement of the continents as they ride on plates of the Earth's lithosphere.
Continental drip is the observation that southward-pointing landforms are more numerous and prominent than northward-pointing landforms. For example, Africa, South America, the Indian subcontinent, and Greenland all taper off to a point towards the south. The name is a play on continental drift. The Southern Hemisphere from above the South Pole
Distribution of four Permian and Triassic fossil groups used as biogeographic evidence for continental drift, and land bridging. Location of Cynognathus remains shown by red diamonds. Fossils have been found in the Karoo, the Puesto Viejo Formation, Fremouw Formation, in South Africa/Lesotho, Argentina and Antarctica.
Continental drift is the theory which emerged in the early 20th century that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed. [2] The idea of continental drift was subsumed by the theory of plate tectonics in the mid-20th century.
The Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis, also known as the Morley–Vine–Matthews hypothesis, was the first key scientific test of the seafloor spreading theory of continental drift and plate tectonics. Its key impact was that it allowed the rates of plate motions at mid-ocean ridges to be computed.
Evidence from paleomagnetism led to the revival of the continental drift hypothesis and its transformation into the modern theory of plate tectonics. Apparent polar wander paths provided the first clear geophysical evidence for continental drift, while marine magnetic anomalies did the same for seafloor spreading.
In reality, the relative polar movement can be either real polar wander or continental drift (or a combination of both). [2] Data from around the globe are needed in order to isolate or distinguish between the two. Nevertheless, the magnetic poles rarely stray far from the geographic poles of the planet; rather they tend to follow true polar ...
Continental Drifters - From the left: Robert Mache, Russ Brousard, Mark Walton, Susan Cowsill - Top: Vicki Peterson, Peter Holsapple - Photo by Rick Olivier. The Continental Drifters are an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991 and dissolved in New Orleans, Louisiana, about a decade later, before reuniting in the years ...