Alfred Wegener was a meteorologist and geophysicist who developed continental drift into a coordinated scientific argument. He presented the proposal publicly in 1912 and published its first book-length treatment in 1915. His investigations of the atmosphere grew alongside his polar fieldwork: observations from Greenland expeditions contributed to his work on atmospheric thermodynamics.[ref]
https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/organisation/alfred-wegener.html?L=0. Alfred Wegener Institute biography, sections 1908, 1912 and 1914
The matching continental outlines were a starting clue. Alfred Wegener assembled evidence from geophysics, geology and paleontology, including related rock formations and past organisms on opposite sides of the Atlantic. He also used isostasy to challenge the idea that vanished land bridges explained these connections: the density contrast between continents and their substrate mattered to his physical argument. He attempted to test motion through geodesy in Greenland, but the inferred displacement rates were much too large. This distinguishes the broad evidence for continental drift from an individual attempted measurement of it.[ref]
https://www.awi.de/en/ueber-uns/organisation/alfred-wegener/artikel/continental-drift.html. Interview with the institute historian, evidence, isostasy and Greenland position measurements
Portrait of Alfred Wegener
. Anonymous photograph, approximately 1924–1930, from Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur. The Commons file page identifies it as public domain. Source.
New to topics? Read the docs here!