Alfred Wegener - Geologist

Wegener, Alfred – Geologist
Andrew Memolo
INTG285 – Spring 2010

You’ve already learned about Alfred Wegener’s doctorate in Astronomy, and eventual Fellowship in Meteorology. Now, let’s learn about Wegener the Theorist, Geologist, Visionary and all around creative genius. Beginning in 1909 Wegener took a job lecturing on meteorology and astronomy at Marburg University in Germany. Both professors and students alike were impressed with his incredible ability to simplify complex concepts within his teachings. Making science easy for all to understand. (1)

Wegener, never having any formal training as a Geologist, wasn’t readily accepted by the geological community and they never looked upon him as a member of their community or having any credibility to discuss such things are continents and their makeup. They considered him a star gazer and storm chaser, but not a man with extensive knowledge of rocks like they had. It was mostly for these very reasons that scientists dismissed and ridiculed Wegener and his theory of a Super-Continent. The very idea he is most known for today. Fortunately, this creative mind didn’t take this shunning to heart and pushed through with his research.

As far back as 1910, Wegener once wrote to his wife; “Doesn’t the east coast of South America fit exactly against the west coast of Africa, as if they had once been joined?” It was this creative thinking that got him into some hot water not only with the geology community, but with his father-in-law as well who was Germany’s leading meteorologist who felt Wegener was wasting his time. But again, Wegener didn’t give up; he pushed forward and researched as much as he possibly could.

Research that eventually lead him to discover some scientific papers that had been written years before with a similar theory in part that Africa and South America has once been joined, citing identical fossils found on both lands. Wegener continued his search for similar published works to help support his theory of a super-continent. (2)

Wegener’s theory consisted of beliefs that continents are moving apart. Wegener theorized that since the continents themselves and the sea floor had different density, had continent sized land bridges existed, which was popular belief at the time, and had broken away from the continents, and somehow been forced to the ocean bottom, they would have risen back to the surface.

He had argued that since there is evidence that the continents were once connected somehow and evidence that fossils on both sides are similar, it only stood to reason that the only logical alternative was that the continents themselves once had been joined and had have now drifted apart.

According to Wegener, had mountains been formed by the Earth shrinking, why weren’t mountains all over the place? He argued that mountains existed in narrow bands and were usually found near the edges of continents.

Wegener twice presented his radical theory of Pangea or All Lands, publicly in 1912, once to a group of German Geologists and second to the Society for the Advancement of Natural Science. When questioned, “Utter damned Rot!” exclaimed the President of the American Philosophical Society. (3) Most scientists in 1912 were shocked that anyone would dare to make such a statement of insanity and nonsense. After all, he was only trying to change everything they had ever believed in for many years and more importantly, he wasn’t even considered a member of their elite groups, let alone the fact he was barely 30 years old. Back at the turn of the last century, scholars believed you needed to be at least forty to be considered educated enough to be respected and have your theories be considered.

Wegener wasn’t the first scientist to come up with this type of theory, many creative thinkers and scientists speculated on a single continent. Take for example; Sir Francis Bacon in the early 1600’s observed the strange similarities of the coasts of Africa and South America. (4) Even closer to Wegner’s life, in the late 1700’s, our own Benjamin Franklin proposed that the crust of the Earth was a shell floating on a fluid interior much like an egg. "Thus the surface of the globe would be capable of being broken and distorted by the violent movements of the fluids on which it rested". (5)

Wegener lectured that South American and African mountain ranges and coal deposits run uninterrupted across both continents. It was this discovery of consistent natural resources on both sides of the ocean that allowed Wegener to place a time period on which Pangea existed which is the Paleozoic Era, which lasted from about 453 to 248 million years ago. This era of Earth’s life is slightly before the better known Jurassic period and is when coal and limestone deposits were formed. (6)

Even with so much of his scientific proof, many scientists rejected his theory of Continental Drift and plate movement. It was not until the early 1960s, when geologist Harry H. Hess and oceanographer Robert S. Dietz developed the theory of the seafloor spreading that Wegener's theory gained acceptance. Like many creative thinkers, vindication doesn’t come until many, many years after their death. If you strongly believe in something, don’t let go and keep working heard to prove yourself right. Don’t give up, because some day, some one will agree with you and provide you the necessary means to come out on top!
MLA Citations:

(1) “Alfred Wegener – Biography”, Healey, Christina, 2006, Alfred Wegener

Background Information on Wegener

(2) Hughes, Patrick. "The Meteorologist Who Started a Revolution," Vol. 47, Weatherwise, 1 April 1994, pp 29.

Information about Wegener, in part, how he got his start in further researching Pangea

(3) De Villiers , Marq, “The End: Natural Disasters, Manmade Catastrophes, and the Future of Human”, New York, Jacobus Communications corps, 2008

Book on the end of the world.

(4) Kearey, Philip, Vine, Fredrick J. “Global Tectonics”, Malden, MA, Blackwell Publishing Company

Scientific book about earth’s tectonic plates.


(5) Franklin, Benjamin; Franklin, William Temple; Duane, William, “Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin” Volume 2, McCarty & Davis, Philadelphia, PA, 1834

Ben Franklin’s writing, memories, etc.

(6) Palmer , A.R.; Geissman, J.; “The Paleozoic Era 543 to 248 Million Years Ago”, University of Berkeley, Nov. 2002 April 12, 2010 (http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/paleozoic/paleozoic.html)

University website discussing each of Earth’s scientific eras.