Unveiling the Development of Continental Drift Theory into Plate Tectonics: From Alfred Wegener to the Widely Accepted Scientific Understanding in the 1970s

During D&W’s time, continental drift and plate tectonic theories weren’t proposed until____ and accepted until ___

During D&W’s time, continental drift and plate tectonic theories were not proposed until the early 20th century

During D&W’s time, continental drift and plate tectonic theories were not proposed until the early 20th century. The concept of continental drift was first introduced by German scientist Alfred Wegener in 1912 through his groundbreaking book “The Origin of Continents and Oceans”. Wegener proposed that the continents were once joined together in a supercontinent called Pangaea and had gradually moved apart over millions of years.

However, Wegener’s theory faced significant skepticism and was not widely accepted at that time. It wasn’t until the 1960s that a more comprehensive understanding of plate tectonics emerged, combining the concept of continental drift with the understanding of Earth’s lithospheric plates.

The acceptance of plate tectonic theory happened gradually throughout the mid-20th century. The discovery of mid-ocean ridges, deep-sea trenches, and seismic activity at plate boundaries provided compelling evidence for the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates. Additionally, advances in technology, such as satellite imaging and GPS, further supported this theory.

By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the scientific community widely accepted the theory of plate tectonics as it provided a unified explanation for various geological phenomena, including earthquakes, mountain building, volcanic activity, and the distribution of continents and oceans.

In summary, the continental drift theory was proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912, but it took several decades for the scientific community to accept and develop the theory into the comprehensive plate tectonic theory, which was widely accepted by the 1970s.

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