alfred wegener

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Definition of alfred wegener in English English dictionary

born Nov. 1, 1880, Berlin, Ger. died Nov. 1930, Greenland German meteorologist and geophysicist. After earning a Ph.D. in astronomy (1905), he became interested in paleoclimatology and traveled to Greenland to research polar air circulation. He formulated the first complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis, which he presented in The Origin of Continents and Oceans (1915). His theory won some adherents, but by 1930 most geologists had rejected it because of the implausibility of his postulations for the driving force behind the continents' movement. It was resurrected in the 1960s as part of the theory of plate tectonics. Wegener died during his fourth expedition to Greenland

Related Terms

Alfred Lothar Wegener

born Nov. 1, 1880, Berlin, Ger. died Nov. 1930, Greenland German meteorologist and geophysicist. After earning a Ph.D. in astronomy (1905), he became interested in paleoclimatology and traveled to Greenland to research polar air circulation. He formulated the first complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis, which he presented in The Origin of Continents and Oceans (1915). His theory won some adherents, but by 1930 most geologists had rejected it because of the implausibility of his postulations for the driving force behind the continents' movement. It was resurrected in the 1960s as part of the theory of plate tectonics. Wegener died during his fourth expedition to Greenland

Hyphenation

Al·fred wegener

Turkish pronunciation

älfrıd weginır

Pronunciation

/ˈalfrəd ˈwegēnər/ /ˈælfrəd ˈwɛɡiːnɜr/