IRISH SCIENTIFIC TEAM

THE LACK OF A MECHANISM FOR CONTINENTAL DRIFT

SIMULATION GUIDE

Your team’s leader is Dr. Terraine, Belfast University

You have been looking at fossils in the rocks of Ireland and Newfoundland.  If America was once joined to Europe, the fossils should be the same.  But you find that only 5% of the fossils in Ireland match those found in Newfoundland.

You are worried that too much importance has been made of the Continental Drift idea.  You say that the continents do fit together as Wegener says.  However, you can show that they can be fitted together like a jigsaw in many meaningless ways.  You intend to demonstrate this using cutouts of the diagrams below.  You do not believe in the idea of Continental Drift.

Problems with Wegener's Model of Continental Drift

More Problems - Only read the introduction and the section titled "The Wrath of Science"

Resistance to Wegener's Hypothesis - Read only this section, and stop when you get the section lableled "Historical Assessment"