The expedition’s purpose was reach the crossing of the inland ice of Greenland from east to west-an aim they had failed to reach in the first Greenland expedition. With the idea of continental drift fresh in his mind, Wegener was enthusiastic for another trip into the polar climate. In 1912, Wegener decided to present his idea of continental displacement, later known as continental drift, in a lecture at the Senckenberg-Museum and three articles in the Petermanns Geographischen Mitteilungen journal.įrom 1912 to 1913 he began his second Greenland expedition. Nonetheless, Wegener knew his idea of the two land masses being connected was a much more viable explanation. Previously, explanations for identical fossils being found on separate continents were based upon the existence of a type of land bridge that has now been sunken. Those documents he found, while browsing the University of Marburg’s library, listed information on fossils of identical plants and animals found on opposite sides of the Atlantic. However, Alfred Wegener did not act upon this conclusion until coming across several scientific documents.
More specifically he noticed how the eastern coast of South America and the northwestern coast of Africa seemed like a perfect fit, thereby coming to the conclusion that they must have been connected at one point. Hans Benndorf, a physics professor at Marburg, further applauded Wegener’s enthusiasm and clarity as he wrote,” With what ease he found his way through the most complicated work of the theoreticians, with what feeling for the important point! He would often, after a long pause for reflection, say ‘I believe such and such’ and most times he was right, as we would establish several days later after rigorous analysis.” In 1910 while still teaching at the University of Marburg, Wegener began to take interest in the history of the Earth’s continents and their placement, after he noticed the jigsaw puzzle like features of their respective continental shelves. There he lectured on various subjects including meteorology, applied astronomy, cosmic physics, and “astronomic-geographic position-fitting for explorers.” Students and colleagues of Wegener admired him for his clarity and ability to explain complex topics in simple terms without sacrificing detail. Moreover, he became the first scientist to use kites and tethered weather balloons to study the polar atmosphere.Īrriving home from his first expedition, he landed a teaching position at the University of Marburg in Germany thanks to his Artic research. While on the expedition, Wegener constructed the first meteorological station in Greenland. Alfred Wegener was thrilled by this opportunity as he always dreamed of adventuring into an Artic climate because of the scientific and physical challenges. Led by Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, the expedition crew’s mission was to explore the last unknown portion of the northeastern coast of Greenland. During his eventual four multiple Greenland expeditions, Alfred Wegener would use the weather balloons extensively to track various air masses and temperatures.įrom 1906 to 1908, Wegener decided to take the first of four Greenland Expeditions in order to study polar weather. On one of the hot air balloon trips, Alfred and Kurt managed to break the world record in 1906 for an uninterrupted flight-they remained afloat for around 52 hours. The weather balloons sent into the upper atmosphere by them would execute metrological surveys and test a specific celestial navigation method using a special quadrant. Together the two brothers went on to use weather balloons as well as hot air balloons to pioneer meteorological research. Wegener and his team preparing for a weather balloon launch. Upon graduating the University of Berlin in 1905 with a Ph.D in astronomy, he decided to work at the Aeronautischen Observatorium Lindenberg with his older brother, Kurt, who shared similar interests in meteorology and polar climatology. While working on his doctorate, he began to gain interest in physics, meteorology and paleoclimatology.
At the University of Berlin, in addition to studying physical and Earth science, he worked toward earning a Ph.D in astronomy. After graduating he attended the University of Berlin as well as a university in Innsbruck, Austria. Wegener first attended school at Köllnische Gymnasium in Berlin where he began to take interest in physical and Earth science and proceeded to graduate at the top of his class. His father, Richard Wegener, was a theologian who taught classical languages at Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster-a prestigious school German school. Born on November 1st, 1880 in Berlin, Germany, Alfred Wegener was the youngest of five children.
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