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Alfred Lothar Wegener

November 1 1880-November 1930

Alfred Wegener was a German researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist.

While during his life he was known for his work on polar research, after his death he is more recognized for his work on the theory of the Continental Drift, he is also attributed for furthering the study of Plate Tectonics, Paleomagnetism, and Paleoclimatology. Often viewed as a forefather of these studies, his life was spent researching, and going on expeditions to Greenland where he ultimately lost his life.

Contents
 * 1) Biography
 * 2) Early Life
 * 3) Education
 * 4) First Greenland Expedtion
 * 5) Second Greenland Expedition
 * 6) WWI
 * 7) Third Greenland Expedition
 * 8) Fourth Greenland Expedition
 * 9) Death
 * 10) Continental Drift
 * 11) Rejection
 * 12) Confirmation
 * 13) Other Studies that he is attributed to
 * 14) Plate Tectonics
 * 15) Paleomagnetism
 * 16) Paleoclimatology
 * 17) Awards and honors

 Biography 

Early Life

Alfred Wegener was born in Berlin November 1st 1880, the youngest of five. His father was a clergyman and was an academic.

Education

Wegener was a studious child and graduated the best in his class, later studying physics, meteorology, and astronomy. He obtained a doctorate in Astronomy in 1905, and always had an interest in meteorology and climatology which he focused on later.

First Greenland Expedition

In 1906 Wegener went on his first expedition to Greenland, charged with studying an unknown portion of the coast of Greenland. During this time Wegener created the first meteorological station in Greenland, where he launched weather balloons to measure the Arctic climatic zone.

Wegener returned from this expedition in 1908 where he lectured at the University of Marburg, he then created a textbook in meteorology.

Second Greenland Expedtion

During this second expedition, Wegener while not leading the expedition did do work on ice drilling which would eventually lead to him helping to pioneer ice coring. After returning home in 1913 Wegener married the daughter of his mentor in meteorology.

WWI

Wegener was called up to serve in WWI, being as he was an Infantry Reserve Officer and he served on the war front in Belgium. Wegener had a short term in service though after suffering from being wounded twice which lead to him being declared unfit for active service. He was then moved to the weather service for the Army which lead him to move constantly throughout Northern Europe.

Even though it was the middle of a war Wegener found time to write a book which had roots in geography and geology, and also wrote several articles on meteorology.

Third Greenland Expedition

Wegener left in 1929 for a third trip to Greenland that would lay the groundwork for his next expedition and tested out a propeller-driven snowmobile.

Fourth Greenland Expedition

This was to be Wegener's last expedition. He left in 1930, and was in charge of the expedition. While there, he and another man Ramus Villumsen decided to winter at a camp called "mid-ice", which proved to be the key factor that would lead to his death.

Death

After a series of unfortunate events with members of his team all but Wegener and Villumsen returned to the camp. Short on supplies and with only two sleds which ended up being one towards the end Wegener died on the journey. Villumsen buried Wegener and was never seen again himself. Six months later Wegener's body was found between two camps. It is believed that Wegener died of heart failure brought on by overexertion, Wegener was a heavy smoker which contributed to his death. His body was reburied at the spot and a large cross was placed as a marker. It is estimated that Wegener and Villumsen's bodies are now under more than 100 metres of ice and snow.

 Continental Drift 

Wegener noticed that the large landmasses of Earth almost fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. While he studied meteorology, he had an interest in geology and noticed that there were similarities in fossil records between the matching sides of continents. In 1912 Wegener advocated the existence of "continental drift", he argued that all the continents were once joined in a single landmass and had drifted apart. Wegener also hypothesized on sea-floor spreading and the roles of mid-ocean ridges. In 1915 Wegener published a book that combined his evidence to advance his theory that there had been one landmass which he called "Urkontinent" which is analogous to the Greek word "Pangaea" which means "all-lands" or "all-earth". In the 1920's he expanded with further evidence and right before his death in the final edition he made the observation that shallower oceans were younger geologically.

Rejection

Although he presented a large amount of evidence the mechanism of how it happened remained a mystery, and the large estimate of the velocity of continental motion (250 cm/year) was too high. (The current acceptable rate is 2.5 cm/yr). While he had many supporters, many did not accept his theory for many reasons. One reason from one academic was how the continents fit together. Many rejected his theory because he was not a geologist and felt that he could not contribute to the field.

Confirmation

In the early 1950's, the new science of paleomagnetism started producing evidence in favor of Wegener's theory. In 1959 there was enough supporting data to change minds throughout the academic community. In 1960, there were several developments in geology which led to the resurrection of the continental drift theory and created the theory of plate tectonics. Wegener was then recognized as the founding father of one of the major scientific revolutions of the 20th century.

 Other Studies he contributed to: 

Plate Tectonics

This is the scientific theory that describes a large-scale motion of Earth's lithosphere. The model is built on the concept of the continental drift, the geoscientific community accepted the plate-tectonic theory after Alfred Wegner's theory of sea-floor spreading was validated in the late 1950's and early 1960's.

Paleomagnetism

This is the study of the Earth's magnetic field in rocks, or sediment. Scientists of this area of study led to the revival of the continental drift theory and the theory of plate-tectonics.

Paleoclimatology

This is the study of changes in climate taken on the scale of the entire history of Earth. From 1919 to 1923 Wegener did pioneering work on reconstructing the climate of past eras.

 Awards and Honors 

The European Geosciences Union sponsors an Alfred Wegener Medal & honorary Membership "for scientists who have achieved exceptional international standing in atmospheric, hydrological or ocean sciences...for their merit and their scientific achievements."

There is also the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany that was established in 1980 and it awards the Wegener Medal in his name.

There is the crater Wegener on the moon, and on Mars, as well as an asteroid and the peninsula where he died in Greenland is named after him.