Alfred Wegener and the Theory of Continental Drift

在科学史上，偶尔会发生一个 一位有先见之明的科学家，他检查了所有的证据， 在他或她自己的一生中被拒绝的理论，只有 这一理论后来得到了证实。 阿尔弗雷德·魏格纳 （1880-1930），也许是这样一个科学家的典范 20世纪世纪的最高水平。 他最著名的理论是 大陆漂移，在20世纪60年代得到了NSF支持的 海洋边缘钻探计划 当魏格纳提出他的理论时， 然而，在这些探险的结果被发现之前， available. 然而，也许同样重要的是， 魏格纳理论，是他那个时代的地质学家 我看不出有什么可行的机制来适应 板块构造的发展沿着 随着钻探探险的新证据， 科学家们以令人信服的论据支持大陆 漂移 韦格纳是重要的，然而，甚至超越了他的工作， 这个“不成熟”的理论。 他也为我们的研究 气象学（云物理学，降水理论）， 大气物理学（大气光学，固体地球物理学）， 古气候学（古赤道和古气候定极 环带），月球地质学（撞击坑理论），和极地 勘探和地质。 尽管有这些贡献， 一直没有重大的学术研究韦格纳的生活和工作， 英语 格林教授的目标就是进行这样一项研究。 他将 利用这笔赠款的支持来检查档案馆和博物馆 里面有文件信件照片探险日记 韦格纳使用的笔记本和设备。 这些材料在 丹麦、格陵兰、西德德国和奥地利。

In the history of science, there occurs on occasion a case of a prescient scientist who examines all the evidence and presents a theory which is rejected in his or her own life-time, only thave this theory confirmed at some later point. Alfred Wegener, (1880-1930), is perhaps the paradigm example of such a scientist for the 20th century. He is best known for his theory of continental drift, confirmed in the 1960's with the NSF-supported ocean-margin drilling program. When Wegener proposed his theory, however, it was long before the results of these expeditions were available. Perhaps as important, though, for the failure of the Wegener theory, was the fact that the geologists of his time could see no feasible mechanism for accommodating the drift of the continents--it took the development of plate tectonics along with the new evidence of the drilling expedition to present most scientists with convincing arguments in favor of continental drift. Wegener is important, however, even beyond his work on this "premature" theory. He also made fundamental contributions to meteorology (cloud physics, theory of precipitation), geophysics (atmospheric optics, solid earth geophysics), paleoclimatology (paleo-equator and paleo-pole fixing by climate zonation), lunar geology (theory of impact craters), and polar exploration and geology. Despite these contributions, there has been no significant scholarly study of Wegener's life and work in English. Professor Greene aims to produce such a study. He will use the support from this grant to examine archives and museums containing papers, letters, photographs, expedition diaries, notebooks and equipment used by Wegener. These materials are in Denmark, Greenland, West Germany and Austria.