Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Continental Drift – the continents once formed a single landmass, it broke up, the continents
then “drifted” to their present locations
Old mountain chains (more than 200 myo) are similar in age and structure: The
age and structure of the Appalachians (in the Eastern U.S.) is similar to mountains
in Greenland and Northern Europe
SECTION 17.2
Additional Evidence for Continental Drift
During World War II (the 1940’s) SONAR technology was improved because submarine pilots
needed detailed maps and a way to navigate under water. These maps that were created
helped to identify previously unknown ocean floor formations (Mid-Ocean Ridges and trenches).
(SONAR -- sound navigation and ranging)
During World War II (the 1940’s) Magnetometers were originally developed to be towed
behind ships on the surface to help them detect the magnetic fields generated by the steel
hulls of submarines. These were later modified to measure the magnetic field strength of
ocean-floor rocks. It was discovered that there were magnetic patterns on the ocean floor.
Mid-Ocean Ridge Systems --
Ocean Rock Samples:
Glomar Challenger – (1968) Large research ship with a drilling rig attached. It took a series of core
samples along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from the center of the rift valley going outward. By examining the
fossils embedded in the samples they discovered that the cores drilled closest to the rift valley had the
youngest fossils and they got progressively older as the samples were drilled farther from the rift valley.