FULL EPISODE Lesson 09 Continental Drift - Understanding the Earth

Theory of continental drift

Part 1 Planet of Man -- Beyond a doubt - revolution 9-Part1
Tuzo Wilson
•Ideas of revolution and the changes of the epic of man
•Reasoning -- Plato, Ptolemy
•End of the 15th century, Copernicus absolute motion everything revolves in circular motion
•16th century Kepler discovers mars orbit is elliptical not round orbit. Breaking a 2000 year old thinking

Part 2 Planet of Man -- Beyond a doubt - revolution 9-Part2
Tuzo Wilson
•Steady state -- Uniformtarism
•Alfred Wegner
•1915 Wegner published a book of drifting like a piece of cracked ice flow.
•Wegner thoughts and reasoning on continental drift
•Wegner concluded 200 million years drifted and they are in their current positions.
•Science and religious comment on continental drift theory
•World War II brought a change in continental drift ideas - instrumentation

Part 3 Planet of Man -- Beyond a doubt - revolution 9-Part3
Tuzo Wilson
•In the 1950's extensive ocean profiling
•Mapping the ocean floor, mid oceanic ridge system
•Paleomagnetic of the earth's surface.
•Harry Hess -- found relationship with mid-oceanic ridge and volcanic activity
•Fredrick Vine marine geologist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Vine explains paleomagnetic reversals.
•Tuzo Wilson explaining the origin of the transform fault
Part 4 Planet of Man -- Beyond a doubt - revolution 9-Part4
Tuzo Wilson
•Scientists are still puzzled at what drives the continents
•Alfred Wegner died in 1930 in Greenland. A year later his body was found and he died of exhaustion.



Part 5 Continental Drift -- Understanding the Earth
Host; Dr. David Pearson.
Today, continental theory is superseded by plate tectonics.
Continental drift treated only the continents as jigsaw puzzle whereas plate tectonics treats the continents, oceans and the earth's crust as pieces of jigsaw puzzle.
These segments are a flashback to part of the development of the current theory
•Meeting in 1964 London, England
•Showing connecting continents on a map
•500 fathom line true edge of continent
•Joining the southern hemispheres continents together
•Professor Hurley from MIT looked at Cratons when reasoning continental drift
•Matching of the strata and ages, good way of seeing how the continents where joined
Part 6 Continental Drift -- Understanding the Earth
Host; Dr. David Pearson.
•Northern hemisphere continents together
•Paleontological
•Edwin H. Colbert his interest in continental drift based on fossils -- Lystrosaurus Zone (Triassic) Fauna from Antarctica
•http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/3840/460
•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_H._Colbert
•

Part 7 Continental Drift -- Understanding the Earth
Host; Dr. David Pearson.
•Continued... Edwin H. Colbert his interest in continental drift based on fossils -- Lystrosaurus Zone (Triassic) Fauna from Antarctica
•http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/3840/460
•Ostracods - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostracods
•Gondwanaland -- Southern hemisphere continents formed 500 million years ago, Started splitting 180 million years ago
•Evidence of continental drift through glaciation 450 million year old rocks
•Paleomagnetism in the southern hemisphere