100yearsofcontinentaldriftandthegeniusofAlfredWegener Dr.A.P.Pradeepkumar,Reader,DeptofGeology,UnivofKerala.geo.pradeep@gmail.com Thecurrentparadigmingeologyisplatetectonics;theimplicationofatheorybecominga paradigmisthatmostphenomenainthesubjectcanbeexplainedonthebasisofthattheory orinotherwordsthetheorycanbeusedasasoundingboard,asortoftouchstone,against which the scientific merit of an idea can be assessed.

ssed. But this powerful theory of plate tectonicsdidnothaveaneasybirth.Theevolutionofthisallencompassinggeologicaltheory is a fascinating study into the modus operandi of science, what is called the scientific endeavour.Itisalsothestoryofthetrialsandtribulationsoftheearlyworkersinthearea,as alsooneofbitterrivalrybetweengeologistsandphysicistsandmeteorologists,asalsothegap betweenEuropeanandNorthAmericangeologists.InbetweentheWorldWarIIcomesinto thepicture.Thecontinuouscollectionofoceanographicdata,mostlytodetectsubmarines, hadpositivefallout,inthatscientistscouldlaytheirhandsonthisdefensedataultimately.The combination of genius, serendipity, acrimony, war, litigation and pure common sense ultimatelyleadtotheoneallencompassingtheoryoftheEarth:platetectonics.And2012is the100thyearofthegerminationoftheideathatleadtoit:continentaldrift.

ThuscontinentaldriftunderliesthetheorywhichcanexplainwhytheHimalayasexist,whya tsunamidevastatedcoastalnationsaroundtheIndianOceanin2004,whytherearevolcanoes, whytherearemineraldepositsandpetroleuminparticularlocationsbutnotelsewhere,why Keralaisrelativelysafeasfarasearthquakesareconcernedetc.Thedevelopmentswesee todayindiverseareasofhumanendeavourowealottoourunderstandingofearthprocesses andhowtheseprocesseshadoperatedinthepast.Thedictumingeologythat'thepresentis the key to the past' has helped us in gaining a better appreciation of the processes that underliethebehaviouroftheEarth.Inthelightofclimatechangeweareatastagewherea moreaptdictumwouldbe'thepresentdecidesthefuture'.Indeedthesuccessoftheplate tectonicshypothesiswaspredicatedontheacceptationofthecontinentaldrift;butatthetime thelatterwasputforththerewasnoideathatsucharevolutionarytheorywouldcomeabout inthefuture.

In1912,AlfredWegener,aGermangeophysicistcummeteorologistpropoundedtheideaof continentaldriftwhichstatedthatlandmassesmigrate.Wegenerwasbornin1880inBerlin and was educated in the University of Berlin, from where he received his doctorate in astronomyin1904.Aninterestingpointofhispersonallifeisthathewasthesoninlawof WladimirKppen,whoproposedoneofthemostwidelyusedclimateclassifications,viz.the famousKppen'sclimateclassification.Wegenerpubliclypresentedhisideainalectureon6 January1912,inFrankfurt,Germany.Subsequentlyin1915hepublishedhisbookOriginof the Continents and Oceans (Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane; in German) in

whichheexplainedhisideasaboutthesimilarityinshapeoftheAtlanticcoastsofAfricaand South America, the apparent continuity of mountain chains across continents, glaciated landscapes that also appeared to becontinuous across now separated continents, and the occurrenceofalmostsimilarfossilfloraandfaunaincontinentsseparatedbywideoceans. WegeneralsonoticedthatSouthAmerica,Africa,India,Antarctica,andAustraliaallhad P Palaeozoicrocksandfossilswhichappearedsimilar.

GlossopterisisaplantfossilthatisfoundfromrocksoftheCarboniferousandPermianage (245360millionyearsago)agefromthesefivecontinents.SimilarlyfossilsofMesosaurus,a freshwaterreptile,wasfoundinrocksofage254millionyears(Permian)fromBraziland South Africa. BasedontheseobservationsWegenerputthejigsawpuzzleofcontinents togetherandsaidthattherewasonceasupercontinentwhichhecalledPangaea(meaning"all Earth),225millionyearsago,duringtheTriassicPeriod.Thiswaslaterdividedintotwo: one in the Southern Hemisphere called Gondwana (South America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica,andIndia)andtheotherintheNorthernHemispherecalledLaurasia(containing NorthAmerica,Europe,andAsia).Thesesupercontinentsalsobrokeupintothepresent continents.KeralaatthattimewaslocatednearthepresentdayAntarctica,andRajasthanhad thickglacialcover!Wegenercorrectlydeducedthatthesesimilarrocksandfossilsmusthave originallybeenpartofcontinentswhichwerejoinedtogetherwhentheywerealive.Thisisan excellentexampleofthescientificmethodatwork.Thebasisofthisisthebeliefthatthe orderlinessexistsintheuniverseandbyanalyzingphenomenaobjectivelythewayinwhich universeworkscanbedeciphered.Continentaldriftwasanimportanthypothesisexplaining m manyphenomenonwehadjustnowmentionedingeology.

Wegeneralsotriedhishandatpalaeoclimatology,whichisthestudyofancientclimates,by reconstructingpastclimaticzones.Depositsoftill(atypeofsediment)aswellasstriationson thesurfaceofrocksarecreatedduetoglacialactivitywhichinturnindicatesacoldclimate likethatneartheNorthorSouthPole,whereascoralreefs,likethatoftheLakshadweep Islands, indicatewarmnearequatorwater.Sandstoneswithstructurescalledcrossbedding indicatedesertsofthepastnear2530Northand2530southlatitude.Ancientclimatesand modern climates, if they had the same distribution on Earth, then with the help of sedimentaryrockswecanshowwheretheEarthspolesandequatorwerelocatedinthepast. BasedontheseWegenerdeterminedthepositionsoftheNorthandSouthPolesforeach geologicperiod.Tohissurprise,andexcitement,Wegenerfoundthatancientpoleswerenot inthepositionwherethepresentpolesare.Hetermedthisapparentmovementofthepoles aspolarwandering.Wegenertookthisasasupportingevidenceforhisconceptofcontinental drift. But all this evidence was insufficient for geologists to accept the hypothesis. The questionofhowtheheavysolidrockmakingupcontinents(plates)couldmove,andwheredo themovingrocksgoto,couldnotbeexplainedbyWegener.

Although Wegener put forth the best evidences he could garner in the early 1900s for continentaldrift,someofhisevidenceswerenotverybelievable.Hemistakenlyproposedthe existenceoflandbridgestoexplainthepresenceoflanddwellingreptilesinthespreadout continents.Butthiscouldnotbeproven.Plantfossilscouldhavebeenspreadarounddifferent continentsbywindsoroceancurrents.Theydonotneedthecontinentstobetogetherinthat case.Alsopolarwanderingcanalsobeduetomovingpolesratherthanbymovingcontinents. Wegener'sPohlflucht,or'flightfromthepoles'theorytoexplainwhycontinentsappearedto drifttowardstheequatorwasalsodisproved.Thustheinconclusivenessofhisevidenceslead tooppositiontohisideas.SirHaroldJeffreysofEnglandandAmericanpaleontologistGG SimpsonwerethemostfamouscriticsofWegenerandthecontinentaldrifttheory.

Afterlanguishingformanydecades,thehypothesisofcontinentaldriftstartedgettingmore acceptance in the 1950.s, after a better understanding of the seafloor was obtained. The seafloor has a connected worldwide mountain chain called the midoceanic ridge approximately65,000kmlongand1000kmwide.Inthe1960s,geophysicistsHarryH.Hess and Robert S. Dietz proposed that seafloor spreading is the mechanism that builds this mountainchain,andalsowhichdrivescontinentalmovement.Hessopinedthattheseresulted frommagmacomingupfromtheuppermantleandasthenosphere(thesearehotinternal layersoftheEarth).Thismagmacreatesthenewcrust,andtheseafloorspreadstobothsides awayfromthemidoceanicridge.Magneticparticlesinthelavaorientwiththemagnetic fieldinprevalentatthattime,whenthelavacoolsandhardens.Thisalignmentisakintoa magnetictaperecordingintheseafloor.Theoceaniccrustiscontinuallyformingandeach magneticreversalandreorientationofEarth'spolarityisrecorded.Thisphenomenonhelped determinetheageoftheoldestoceaniccrust,whichwasfoundtobeonlyofJurassicage (<208millionyears,comparedtoEarthsageof4600millionyears). Itwasfinallydeterminedthatplatesslideandmoveovertheasthenospherewhichisaviscous layeratthebaseofthelithosphereandthatmovingplatesgetdestroyedattheedgesofplate throughaprocesscalledsubduction.Thuscontinentaldriftplusseafloorspreadingleadto thedevelopmentofthecurrentparadigmingeology,viz.,theplatetectonics.Onthis100th anniversaryofcontinentaldriftweshouldbethankfultoAlfredWegenerforhisprescience andhowwiththeveryrudimentarytechniquesathisdisposalhecouldenvisageagrand scenarioofmovingcontinentsandallenvelopingoceans.Thelessonwelearnisthatscience needs precise observations as well as accurate assumptions, but more than that scientist shouldbeabletothinktheunthinkable.Thatistrueresearch,whentheeyeseeswhatothers see,butthemindthinkswhattheothersneverthought!Thoughittookhalfacenturyfor Wegener'shypothesistobecomeaccepted,itbecamethecornerstoneforallgeologicalstudies of theEarth.Thatisthetruetributethattheworldcouldpaytosuchanextraordinarily perceptivegeniusandadventurerthatAlfredWegenerwas.