Plate Tectonics “Father,” Alfred Wegener, Remembered at NAC+ 2016

Dr. Denis M. Schlatter of Helvetica Exploration Services GmbH remembers Alfred Wegener (1880–1930)

Alfred Wegener was a German polar researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist. However, today he is most remembered as the originator of the theory of continental drift, having hypothesized in 1912 that the continents are slowly drifting around the Earth. His theory led later researchers to build on his work and form the basis of the plate tectonics model which accurately describes the large-scale motion of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle.

Check out the insightful account of Wegener and his contribution to modern geology in this paper by Dr. Denis M. Schlatter, for the North Atlantic Craton 2016 conference earlier this year: Remembering Alfred Wegener (1880–1930): Greenlandic and Polar explorer and the father of plate tectonics To see Dr. Schlatter’s supplementary poster with the same title, click here.