The Origin of Continents and Oceans


Book Description

A source of profound influence and controversy, this landmark 1915 work explains various phenomena of historical geology, geomorphy, paleontology, paleoclimatology, and similar areas in terms of continental drift. 64 illustrations. 1966 edition.




The Origin of Continents and Oceans


Book Description

In 1915 Alfred Wegener's seminal work describing the continental drift was first published in German. Wegener explained various phenomena of historical geology, geomorphy, paleontology, paleoclimatology, and similar areas in terms of continental drift. This edition includes new data to support his theories, helping to refute the opponents of his controversial views. 64 illustrations.




On the Origin of Continents and Oceans


Book Description

ON THE ORIGIN OF CONTINENTS AND OCEANS is a completely new and somewhat controversial way of looking at and understanding modern scientific evidence about the origin of Earth's continents and oceans. Since the 1960s this evidence has traditionally been gathered in support of Plate Tectonic studies and as such, until now, has rarely been looked at other than from a conventional Plate Tectonic perspective. This conventional perspective insists that the origin of the continents and oceans is a random, non-predictable, and sometimes catastrophic process-a process that is understood by very few and remains unchallenged by most. In this book, the same modern scientific evidence as used in Plate Tectonic studies is used to recreate and discuss the entire 4,000 million years of Earth's recorded geological history. This discussion commences with an ancient primordial Earth comprising an assemblage of the most ancient Archaean continental crusts. Discussion then continues through the various supercontinental stages until breakup of the ancient Pangaea supercontinent occurred to form the modern continents during the late-Permian Period, as well as opening of each of the modern oceans. The location of each ancient magnetic pole is shown to remain diametrically opposed throughout this entire time, as it is today, and these poles are precisely located on all constructed models of the ancient Earth. Each established pole and equator is shown to coincide precisely with observed ancient climate zones and ancient geographical evidence. Similarly, plant and animal species evolution, extinction, and migration is shown to be intimately related to progressive continental break-up, sea-level changes, and opening of the modern oceans, in particular during the past 250 million years. By adopting this new scientific perspective it is shown that global extinctions are not related to random catastrophic events-events we are led to believe predict a gloomy end to civilisation as we know it-but, more importantly, these events are shown to coincide with non-catastrophic, wholesale continental breakup as well as climate and sea-level changes that occur naturally over many millions of years. In contrast to what we are currently led to believe in conventional tectonic studies, this new perspective is telling a completely different story about the origin of Earth's continents and oceans; one that shows a very simple, predictable, easily understood, and holistic process involving a progressively changing Earth surface area and surface curvature through time. By simply changing our misguided assumptions about the physical characteristics of the ancient Earth, the new perspective presented here represents a paradigm shift in the way we are able to understand and challenge our conventional views on the origin of the continents and oceans.




The Origin of Continents and Oceans


Book Description

Alfred Lothar Wegener (1880-1930) was a German geophysicist and meteorologist. His research focused mainly on meteorology and polar research, however he is most remembered as the originator of the theory of continental drift, i.e. that the continents are slowly drifting around the Earth. His hypothesis was controversial and widely rejected by mainstream geology until the 1950s, when novel discoveries such as palaeomagnetism provided strong support for continental drift, which is the basis for today's model of plate tectonics. Third edition, originally published in 1924.




Origins


Book Description

Glorious panoramic photography by the author, a specialist in interpretive landscape, reveals the physical legacy of the Earth's distant past. This exceptional book celebrates the inevitability of global change and highlights our need as human beings to recognize and adjust to it. Color and b&w illustrations.




Physical Geology


Book Description

This is a discount Black and white version. Some images may be unclear, please see BCCampus website for the digital version.This book was born out of a 2014 meeting of earth science educators representing most of the universities and colleges in British Columbia, and nurtured by a widely shared frustration that many students are not thriving in courses because textbooks have become too expensive for them to buy. But the real inspiration comes from a fascination for the spectacular geology of western Canada and the many decades that the author spent exploring this region along with colleagues, students, family, and friends. My goal has been to provide an accessible and comprehensive guide to the important topics of geology, richly illustrated with examples from western Canada. Although this text is intended to complement a typical first-year course in physical geology, its contents could be applied to numerous other related courses.




Alfred Wegener


Book Description

The book should be of interest not only to earth scientists, students of polar travel and exploration, and historians but to all readers who are fascinated by the great minds of science.--Henry R. Frankel, University of Missouri-Kansas City, author of The Continental Drift Controversy "Science & Education"




Dinosaurs and the Expanding Earth


Book Description

This title outlines the evidence that ancient life lived on a reduced gravity Earth and how this relates to an increasing mass expanding Earth.




The Mountain Mystery


Book Description

Fifty years ago, no one could explain mountains. Arguments about their origin were spirited, to say the least. Progressive scientists were ridiculed for their ideas. Most geologists thought the Earth was shrinking. Contracting like a hot ball of iron, shrinking and exposing ridges that became mountains. Others were quite sure the planet was expanding. Growth widened sea basins and raised mountains. There was yet another idea, the theory that the world's crust was broken into big plates that jostled around, drifting until they collided and jarred mountains into existence. That idea was invariably dismissed as pseudo-science. Or "utter damned rot" as one prominent scientist said. But the doubtful theory of plate tectonics prevailed. Mountains, earthquakes, ancient ice ages, even veins of gold and fields of oil are now seen as the offspring of moving tectonic plates. Just half a century ago, most geologists sternly rejected the idea of drifting continents. But a few intrepid champions of plate tectonics dared to differ. The Mountain Mystery tells their story.




The Geology of the Atlantic Ocean


Book Description

The explosion of interest, effort, and information about the ocean since about 1950 has produced many thousand scientific articles and many hun dred books. In fact, the outpouring has been so large that authors have been unable to read much of what has been published, so they have tended to concentrate their own work within smaller and smaller subfields of oceanog raphy. Summaries of information published in books have taken two main paths. One is the grouping of separately authored chapters into symposia type books, with their inevitable overlaps and gaps between chapters. The other is production of lightly researched books containing drawings and tables from previous pUblications, with due credit given but showing assem bly-line writing with little penetration of the unknown. Only a few books have combined new and previous data and thoughts into new maps and syntheses that relate the contributions of observed biological, chemical, geological, and physical processes to solve broad problems associated with the shape, composition, and history of the oceans. Such a broad synthesis is the objective of this book, in which we tried to bring together many of the pieces of research that were deemed to be of manageable size by their originators. The composite may form a sort of plateau above which later studies can rise, possibly benefited by our assem bly of data in the form of new maps and figures.