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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]

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]

A meteorologist studies the atmosphere and weather using observations, physical theory and numerical models. Fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and radiative processes connect measured pressure, temperature and moisture with changing winds and clouds.

Forecasting requires an estimated initial state as well as evolution equations. Uncertainty in observations and model approximations can grow, so an ensemble of forecasts is useful for expressing a range of plausible outcomes.