Thursday, November 14, 2013

Harry Who?

Who was Harry Hess and how did his work help support the theories of Alfred Wegener? 


78 comments:

Evan L said...

The idea that the continents might have moved, or “drifted” over time can be traced back to the sixteenth century, when European cartographers compiled world maps based on the seagoing expeditions of that time. This idea was transformed into the theory of “continental drift” by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1912, when he published a treatise with several lines of supporting evidence that went beyond simply matching the continents like puzzle pieces. These lines of evidence included, for example, matching geological formations and paleontological distributions from South America and Africa.

Evan L said...

http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/web/essaybooks/earth/p_hess.html

Gareth B said...

The idea that the continents might have moved, or “drifted” over time can be traced back to the sixteenth century, when European cartographers compiled world maps based on the seagoing expeditions of that time. This idea was transformed into the theory of “continental drift” by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1912, when he published a treatise with several lines of supporting evidence that went beyond simply matching the continents like puzzle pieces. These lines of evidence included, for example, matching geological formations and paleontological distributions from South America and Africa.

Anonymous said...

Hess possessed two valuable skills: careful attention to detail and the ability to form sweeping hypotheses. This unusual combination produced groundbreaking work on a number of subjects, including the origin of ocean basins and island arcs, mountain building, and the movement of continents. The idea that the continents might have moved, or “drifted” over time can be traced back to the sixteenth century, when European cartographers compiled world maps based on the seagoing expeditions of that time. This idea was transformed into the theory of “continental drift” by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1912, when he published a treatise with several lines of supporting evidence that went beyond simply matching the continents like puzzle pieces. These lines of evidence included, for example, matching geological formations and paleontological distributions from South America and Africa. Wegener’s critics correctly pointed out, however, that the continents could not simply “plow” though the ocean floor as Wegener had vaguely theorized. It was Hess who determined how oceanic mountain ranges, called mid-ocean ridges, are fundamental to the tectonic movement that results in the drift of continents.

Jack D said...

Alfred Wegener when he published a treatise with several lines of supporting evidence that went beyond simply matching the continents like puzzle pieces.

Anonymous said...

Alfred Wegener was born in Berlin in 1880, where his father was a minister who ran an orphanage. From an early age he took an interest in Greenland, and always walked, skated, and hiked as though training for an expedition. He studied in Germany and Austria, receiving his PhD in astronomy. But no sooner did he finish his dissertation than he dropped astronomy to study meteorology, the new science of weather.

Wegener experimented with kites and balloons, and with his brother Kurt set a world record in an international balloon contest, flying 52 hours straight. That was in 1906, the year he made his first expedition to Greenland. He went as the official meteorologist on a two-year Danish expedition. When he returned he took up teaching meteorology at the University of Marburg, where he was a very popular lecturer.

In 1910, Wegener noticed the matching coastlines of the Atlantic continents -- they looked on maps like they had once been fit together. He was not the first to notice this, but it was an idea that would never leave his thoughts. In 1911, he published a textbook on the thermodynamics of atmosphere, but at the same time he pursued his studies of the continents. He first spoke on the topic in January of 1912, where he put forth the idea of "continental displacement" or what later was called continental drift. The year 1912 was busy for Wegener: he got married (to the daughter of Germany's leading meteorologist) and he returned to Greenland, making the longest crossing of the ice cap ever made on foot.

Though he served in World War I and was wounded twice, he published his ideas in 1915. They constituted the first focused and rational argument for continental drift, but still they veered radically from the accepted beliefs of the time. Some scientists supported him. Still more scientists opposed him -- including his father-in-law, who seemed annoyed that Wegener had strayed from meteorology into the unknown territory of geophysics. The established reputation of many of his detractors probably gave more weight to their criticisms than was merited. Wegener often complained of their narrow-mindedness.

In 1926 Wegener was finally offered a professorship in meteorology. In 1930 he sailed from Denmark as the leader of a major expedition to Greenland -- his fourth and last. He celebrated his fiftieth birthday on November 1, but shortly afterwards the team got separated, and he was lost in a blizzard. His body was found halfway between the two camps.

Well after his death, and after World War II, Wegener's theories were vindicated by the work of Harry Hess and others. In 1960 Hess proposed the mechanism of sea-floor spreading, which would explain how the continents moved. Newly discovered exporation techniques were employed to prove this theory and ultimately, the correctness of Wegener's chief idea as well.

Griffin M said...

http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/web/essaybooks/earth/p_hess.html

The idea that the continents might have drifted over time can be traced back to the sixteenth century, when European cartographers compiled world maps based on the seagoing expeditions of that time. This idea was transformed into the theory of “continental drift” by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1912, when he published a treatise with several lines of supporting evidence that went beyond simply matching the continents like puzzle pieces. These lines of evidence included, for example, matching geological formations and paleontological distributions from South America and Africa.

dawson gagnon said...

hey mr ruby

Taylor J said...

Alfred Wegener was born in Berlin in 1880, where his father was a minister who ran an orphanage. From an early age he took an interest in Greenland, and always walked, skated, and hiked as though training for an expedition. He studied in Germany and Austria, receiving his PhD in astronomy. But no sooner did he finish his dissertation than he dropped astronomy to study meteorology, the new science of weather.

Wegener experimented with kites and balloons, and with his brother Kurt set a world record in an international balloon contest, flying 52 hours straight. That was in 1906, the year he made his first expedition to Greenland. He went as the official meteorologist on a two-year Danish expedition. When he returned he took up teaching meteorology at the University of Marburg, where he was a very popular lecturer.

In 1910, Wegener noticed the matching coastlines of the Atlantic continents -- they looked on maps like they had once been fit together. He was not the first to notice this, but it was an idea that would never leave his thoughts. In 1911, he published a textbook on the thermodynamics of atmosphere, but at the same time he pursued his studies of the continents. He first spoke on the topic in January of 1912, where he put forth the idea of "continental displacement" or what later was called continental drift. The year 1912 was busy for Wegener: he got married (to the daughter of Germany's leading meteorologist) and he returned to Greenland, making the longest crossing of the ice cap ever made on foot.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bowege.html

Rylan N said...

Dr. Hess' most significant contribution to the plate tectonic theory began in 1945 when he was the commander of the U.S.S. Cape Johnson. While traveling from one destination to another, Hess would leave the sounding equipment on that would take measurements of the sea floor. It was at this time that Dr. Hess discovered features on the floor of the ocean that appeared to be mountains with the tops flattened. He called these features guyouts after the first Geology professor at Princeton.
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth520/content/l2_p9.html

Anonymous said...

sorry

Samantha L said...

In 1910, Wegener noticed the matching coastlines of the Atlantic continents -- they looked on maps like they had once been fit together. He was not the first to notice this, but it was an idea that would never leave his thoughts. In 1911, he published a textbook on the thermodynamics of atmosphere, but at the same time he pursued his studies of the continents. He first spoke on the topic in January of 1912, where he put forth the idea of "continental displacement" or what later was called continental drift. The year 1912 was busy for Wegener: he got married (to the daughter of Germany's leading meteorologist) and he returned to Greenland, making the longest crossing of the ice cap ever made on foot.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bowege.html

Anonymous said...

http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/web/essaybooks/earth/p_hess.html

Ben S. said...

Harry Hammond Hess was a geologist and a navy officer in World War II. He made a theory called "sea-floor spreading".

Gareth B said...

http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/web/essaybooks/earth/p_hess.html

Brendan S said...

Nothing could feel more solid than the ground under our feet.

Brendan S said...

Nothing could feel more solid than the ground under our feet. Yet the surface of the Earth is not fixed, but rather broken up like a jigsaw puzzle into enormous plates that move. This process is called plate tectonics, and it transformed the thinking of geologists. One of them, Harry Hess, was an instrumental figure in figuring out how plate tectonics worked. Hess possessed two valuable skills: careful attention to detail and the ability to form sweeping hypotheses. This unusual combination produced groundbreaking work on a number of subjects, including the origin of ocean basins and island arcs, mountain building, and the movement of continents. The idea that the continents might have moved, or “drifted” over time can be traced back to the sixteenth century, when European cartographers compiled world maps based on the seagoing expeditions of that time. This idea was transformed into the theory of “continental drift” by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1912, when he published a treatise with several lines of supporting evidence that went beyond simply matching the continents like puzzle pieces. These lines of evidence included, for example, matching geological formations and paleontological distributions from South America and Africa. Wegener’s critics correctly pointed out, however, that the continents could not simply “plow” though the ocean floor as Wegener had vaguely theorized. It was Hess who determined how oceanic mountain ranges, called mid-ocean ridges, are fundamental to the tectonic movement that results in the drift of continents. According to his own account, Hess flunked his first course in mineralogy at Yale and was told he had no future in the field. Nevertheless he stuck with it, and was teaching geology at Princeton when World War II was declared. Already a lieutenant junior grade in the Naval Reserve, Hess was called to active duty after Pearl Harbor and was eventually to rise to the rank of Rear Admiral.

Mya N said...

Harry Hammond Hess was a geologist and United States Navy officer in World War II. And I don't know how his work help supported the theories of Alfred Wegener.

Wyatt R said...

Harry Hammond Hess was a geologist and United States Navy officer in World War II. Considered one of the "founding fathers" of the unifying theory of plate tectonics. His theory of Seafloor spreading helped support the theories of Alfred Wegener.

Katie N. said...

Harry Hammond Hess was a geologist and United States Navy officer in World War II. Considered one of the "founding fathers" of the unifying theory of plate tectonics, Rear Admiral Harry Hammond Hess was born on May 24, 1906 in New York City, and Harry Hess developed the idea of sea floor spreading. Which help better prove Alfred Wegener's Continental Drift Hypothesis. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Explain_Harry_Hess_contribution_to_Plate_Tectonic_Theory

Evan L said...

According to his own account, Hess flunked his first course in mineralogy at Yale and was told he had no future in the field. Nevertheless he stuck with it, and was teaching geology at Princeton when World War II was declared. Already a lieutenant junior grade in the Naval Reserve, Hess was called to active duty after Pearl Harbor and was eventually to rise to the rank of Rear Admiral. He soon developed a system for estimating the daily positions of German U-boats in the North Atlantic, and requested duty aboard a decoy vessel in order to test the program. It worked.

Lauren B. said...

He was a geologist and he is best known for his theories of sea floor spreading. His work provided a mental bace for the development of the theory of plate tectonics.

Tyler J said...

harry hess is a geologist that put the last piece in Wegener's theory how the continents move.

Evan L said...

Im your best friend dawson

Tyler J said...

or drift

dawson gagnon said...

YEAH YOU ARE

Lauren B. said...

I got my facts from wikipedia.

Clayton U said...

Harry hess is a geologist that put the last piece in Wegener's theory how the continents move.

Anonymous said...

Harry hess is a geologist that put the last piece in Wegener's plate tectonics.

Anonymous said...

Harry hess is a geologist that put the last piece in Wegener's theory how the continents move.

Anonymous said...

theory

Erin W said...

In 1910, Wegener noticed the matching coastlines of the Atlantic continents -- they looked on maps like they had once been fit together. He was not the first to notice this, but it was an idea that would never leave his thoughts. In 1911, he published a textbook on the thermodynamics of atmosphere, but at the same time he pursued his studies of the continents. He first spoke on the topic in January of 1912, where he put forth the idea of "continental displacement" or what later was called continental drift. The year 1912 was busy for Wegener: he got married (to the daughter of Germany's leading meteorologist) and he returned to Greenland, making the longest crossing of the ice cap ever made on foot.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bowege.html

Amber R said...

Hess is best known for his theories of seafloor spreading

Noah R said...

Harry Hess was a geologist. He did stuff that supported Wegener's theory of continental drift.

Sadie F. said...

Harry Hess was a geologist. His ideas helped make a base for Alfred Wegener's theory of how the continents move.

bailey w said...

Harry Hammond Hess was a geologist and United States Navy officer in World War II. Considered one of the "founding fathers" of the unifying theory of plate tectonics, Rear Admiral Harry Hammond Hess was born on May 24, 1906 in New York City.

Jacob G said...

He helped Alfred Wegener with his theory.

Lauren S said...

Harry Hammond Hess was a geologist and a navy officer in World War II. He made a theory called "sea-floor spreading".

Ella T. said...

Sea floor spreading helped support the theory of the continental drift because of the plates. The continental drift theory also involves plates moving. And when the plates move, it can cause the continents to drift away from each other.

Anonymous said...

Harry Hess was a very good geologist. And he helped the theory of how the continents seperated apart.

TylerW said...

Harry was a good geologist. He supported the theory of continental drift.

Julia M said...

Harry Hess was a geologist. He helped to support Wegener's theory of continental drift.

Kaylee H. said...

Harry hess is a geologist that put that last piece in wegener's theory how the continents move or drift.

Cody M. said...

The idea that the continents might have moved, or “drifted” over time can be traced back to the sixteenth century, when European cartographers compiled world maps based on the seagoing expeditions of that time. This idea was transformed into the theory of “continental drift” by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1912, when he published a treatise with several lines of supporting evidence that went beyond simply matching the continents like puzzle pieces. These lines of evidence included, for example, matching geological formations and paleontological distributions from South America and Africa.

Jacob T said...

Alfred Wegener was born in Berlin in 1880, where his father was a minister who ran an orphanage. From an early age he took an interest in Greenland, and always walked, skated, and hiked as though training for an expedition. He studied in Germany and Austria, receiving his PhD in astronomy. But no sooner did he finish his dissertation than he dropped astronomy to study meteorology, the new science of weather.

Wegener experimented with kites and balloons, and with his brother Kurt set a world record in an international balloon contest, flying 52 hours straight. That was in 1906, the year he made his first expedition to Greenland. He went as the official meteorologist on a two-year Danish expedition. When he returned he took up teaching meteorology at the University of Marburg, where he was a very popular lecturer.

In 1910, Wegener noticed the matching coastlines of the Atlantic continents -- they looked on maps like they had once been fit together. He was not the first to notice this, but it was an idea that would never leave his thoughts. In 1911, he published a textbook on the thermodynamics of atmosphere, but at the same time he pursued his studies of the continents. He first spoke on the topic in January of 1912, where he put forth the idea of "continental displacement" or what later was called continental drift. The year 1912 was busy for Wegener: he got married (to the daughter of Germany's leading meteorologist) and he returned to Greenland, making the longest crossing of the ice cap ever made on foot.

Though he served in World War I and was wounded twice, he published his ideas in 1915. They constituted the first focused and rational argument for continental drift, but still they veered radically from the accepted beliefs of the time. Some scientists supported him. Still more scientists opposed him -- including his father-in-law, who seemed annoyed that Wegener had strayed from meteorology into the unknown territory of geophysics. The established reputation of many of his detractors probably gave more weight to their criticisms than was merited. Wegener often complained of their narrow-mindedness.

In 1926 Wegener was finally offered a professorship in meteorology. In 1930 he sailed from Denmark as the leader of a major expedition to Greenland -- his fourth and last. He celebrated his fiftieth birthday on November 1, but shortly afterwards the team got separated, and he was lost in a blizzard. His body was found halfway between the two camps.

Well after his death, and after World War II, Wegener's theories were vindicated by the work of Harry Hess and others. In 1960 Hess proposed the mechanism of sea-floor spreading, which would explain how the continents moved. Newly discovered exporation techniques were employed to prove this theory and ultimately, the correctness of Wegener's chief idea as well.

TAYLORg said...

Harry Hess was a geologist that helped to support Wegeners theory of continental drift.

Unknown said...

copier and paster!

Taylor V said...

Harry Hess was a geologist. His ideas helped make a base for Alfred Wegener's theory of how the continents move.

Anonymous said...

Alfred Wegener was born in Berlin in 1880, where his father was a minister who ran an orphanage. From an early age he took an interest in Greenland, and always walked, skated, and hiked as though training for an expedition. He studied in Germany and Austria, receiving his PhD in astronomy. But no sooner did he finish his dissertation than he dropped astronomy to study meteorology, the new science of weather.

Wegener experimented with kites and balloons, and with his brother Kurt set a world record in an international balloon contest, flying 52 hours straight. That was in 1906, the year he made his first expedition to Greenland. He went as the official meteorologist on a two-year Danish expedition. When he returned he took up teaching meteorology at the University of Marburg, where he was a very popular lecturer.

In 1910, Wegener noticed the matching coastlines of the Atlantic continents -- they looked on maps like they had once been fit together. He was not the first to notice this, but it was an idea that would never leave his thoughts. In 1911, he published a textbook on the thermodynamics of atmosphere, but at the same time he pursued his studies of the continents. He first spoke on the topic in January of 1912, where he put forth the idea of "continental displacement" or what later was called continental drift. The year 1912 was busy for Wegener: he got married (to the daughter of Germany's leading meteorologist) and he returned to Greenland, making the longest crossing of the ice cap ever made on foot.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bowege.html

Anonymous said...

Harry hess is a geologist that helped wagerers theory how the continents move or drift
loganm

Cassie M said...

Harry Hammond Hess (May 24, 1906 – August 25, 1969) was a geologist and United States Navy officer in World War II.
Considered one of the "founding fathers" of the unifying theory of plate tectonics, Rear Admiral Harry Hammond Hess was born on May 24, 1906 in New York City. He is best known for his theories on sea floor spreading, specifically work on relationships between island arcs, seafloor gravity anomalies, and serpentinized peridotite, suggesting that the convection of the Earth's mantle was the driving force behind this process. This work provided a conceptual base for the development of the theory of plate tectonics.

Unknown said...

harry hess was a geologist and supported wagers theory

Cody M. said...

Alfred Wegener was born in Berlin in 1880, where his father was a minister who ran an orphanage. From an early age he took an interest in Greenland, and always walked, skated, and hiked as though training for an expedition. He studied in Germany and Austria, receiving his PhD in astronomy. But no sooner did he finish his dissertation than he dropped astronomy to study meteorology, the new science of weather.

Wegener experimented with kites and balloons, and with his brother Kurt set a world record in an international balloon contest, flying 52 hours straight. That was in 1906, the year he made his first expedition to Greenland. He went as the official meteorologist on a two-year Danish expedition. When he returned he took up teaching meteorology at the University of Marburg, where he was a very popular lecturer.

In 1910, Wegener noticed the matching coastlines of the Atlantic continents -- they looked on maps like they had once been fit together. He was not the first to notice this, but it was an idea that would never leave his thoughts. In 1911, he published a textbook on the thermodynamics of atmosphere, but at the same time he pursued his studies of the continents. He first spoke on the topic in January of 1912, where he put forth the idea of "continental displacement" or what later was called continental drift. The year 1912 was busy for Wegener: he got married (to the daughter of Germany's leading meteorologist) and he returned to Greenland, making the longest crossing of the ice cap ever made on foot.

Though he served in World War I and was wounded twice, he published his ideas in 1915. They constituted the first focused and rational argument for continental drift, but still they veered radically from the accepted beliefs of the time. Some scientists supported him. Still more scientists opposed him -- including his father-in-law, who seemed annoyed that Wegener had strayed from meteorology into the unknown territory of geophysics. The established reputation of many of his detractors probably gave more weight to their criticisms than was merited. Wegener often complained of their narrow-mindedness.

In 1926 Wegener was finally offered a professorship in meteorology. In 1930 he sailed from Denmark as the leader of a major expedition to Greenland -- his fourth and last. He celebrated his fiftieth birthday on November 1, but shortly afterwards the team got separated, and he was lost in a blizzard. His body was found halfway between the two camps.

Well after his death, and after World War II, Wegener's theories were vindicated by the work of Harry Hess and others. In 1960 Hess proposed the mechanism of sea-floor spreading, which would explain how the continents moved. Newly discovered exporation techniques were employed to prove this theory and ultimately, the correctness of Wegener's chief idea as well.
IM AWESOME!!!

Adrian K said...

Harry Hess was a geologist that helped prove Alfred Wegener's theory about continental drift.

Anonymous said...

Harry Hess is a geologist that completed the last part of Alfred Wagner theory. PH

Sophia S said...

Harry Hess is a amazing geologists who supported Alfred Wegener's idea of continental drift through suggesting an idea of seafloor spreading.

Jennifer C said...

Harry Hammond Hess (May 24, 1906 – August 25, 1969) was a geologist and United States Navy officer in World War II. And I read that he went to Princeton University, and I saw on the news that was the #1 college in the US for parties so koodles to him!!!!

Ashleigh L said...

1900s two scientists, the American F.B. Taylor and the German Alfred Wegener, put forward a theory called Continental Drift.
they pointed out similarities between the shapes of the continents on opposite sides of the Atlantic and suggested that North America had once been joined to Europe and South America to Africa. but somehow they had broken apart and drifted to their present positions.
similar rocks, rock structures and fossils were found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. one fossil plant, called glossopteris flourished in the Carboniferous and Permian periods.
fossils of this plant were found in India and in all southern continents. but glossopteris had heavy seeds which winds could not have blown far. how then did this plant spread around these widely separated areas?

Matthew G said...

Harry Hess was a geologist. His ideas helped make a base for Alfred Wegener's theory of how the continents move.

lindseyb said...

Harry Hess is a amazing geologists who supported Alfred Wegener's idea of continental drift through suggesting an idea of seafloor spreading.


Sophia S

Devon Sargent said...

Harry Hammond Hess (May 24, 1906 – August 25, 1969) was a geologist and United States Navy officer in World War II.
Considered one of the "founding fathers" of the unifying theory of plate tectonics, Rear Admiral Harry Hammond Hess was born on May 24, 1906 in New York City. He is best known for his theories on sea floor spreading, specifically work on relationships between island arcs, seafloor gravity anomalies, and serpentinized peridotite, suggesting that the convection of the Earth's mantle was the driving force behind this process. This work provided a conceptual base for the development of the theory of plate tectonics.

Abbie N said...

Harry was a geologist who helped complete the theory.

Devon Sargent said...

Cassie M.

Anonymous said...

Alfred Wegener was born in Berlin in 1880, where his father was a minister who ran an orphanage. From an early age he took an interest in Greenland, and always walked, skated, and hiked as though training for an expedition. He studied in Germany and Austria, receiving his PhD in astronomy. But no sooner did he finish his dissertation than he dropped astronomy to study meteorology, the new science of weather.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bowege.html

Natanya L said...

Harry Hess is a amazing geologists who supported Alfred Wegener's idea of continental drift through suggesting an idea of seafloor spreading.

LindseyB

Sophia S

McKayla. M said...

he was a geologist and his ideas helped support Alfred's theory

Molly B said...

Harry Hess he was in the war and was smart !
sea floor spreading !

Marie R said...

Harry Hes worked on the sea floor.

Anonymous said...

nice response

Anonymous said...


Well after his death, and after World War II, Wegener's theories were vindicated by the work of Harry Hess and others. In 1960 Hess proposed the mechanism of sea-floor spreading, which would explain how the continents moved. Newly discovered exporation techniques were employed to prove this theory and ultimately, the correctness of Wegener's chief idea as well. - Desi (Yahoo)

Billy M said...

Harry Hess is a amazing geologists who supported Alfred Wegener's idea of continental drift through suggesting an idea of seafloor spreading.

LindseyB

Sophia S

Natnanya Lovett

AutumnP said...

Harry Hess new about sea floor spreading

Kanani L. said...

Harry Hess is the one who did the seafloor spreading. Alfred ideas supported Harry ideas

cw said...

hi

Anonymous said...

HI MR RUBY!!!!

JACOB G said...

Hey MR RUBY

Elsa L said...

Harry Hess knew about sea floor spreading.

Anonymous said...

guy who made seafloor spreading