how might coal deposits found in Antarctica provide evidence for plate tectonics?

Question

this is a science question i need help with!

Answer 1

Hey I'm doing that in science too!Coal is remains from dead animals.Well there is no way the fossils found in Antarctica could have lived in such cold weather.This shows us that not only have the continents moved but the Earth weather has also changed.

Answer 2

well i think coal comes from decomposed animals that are trapped below the ground for a long time under a bunch of pressure, so if there were large coal deposits in Antarctica then that would mean at one time there must have been a lot of animals on that continent which would either mean that there used to be a lot of animals that could handle the extreme cold that is there or that Antarctica used to be somewhere else on the globe that was warm enough to support more life and it was only afterwards that plate tectonics move the continent to the south of the globe where it now sits.

Answer 3

Coal In Antarctica

Answer 4

Coal comes from peat and other plants (Not animals) that can be found in a swampy environment which under go pressure over time and lithify or harden into a rock.... If coal is forming in anartica it would have had to have been able to support a subtropical to temperate environments such as is seen in places where bogs and swamps are seen today. In order for Anartica which exists at the southern pole to have been able to support such a environment it would have had to exist at a different latitude i.e. closer to the equator than it is today.

Answer 5

In its current position, Antarctica couldn't sustain substantial amounts of life. Coal is a fossil fuel so that means if there is coal in substantial quantities, then that means that Antarctica must have been in a part of the world where it once supported large quantities of life. Which means that it moved to where it is now, and hasn't always been where it is now.

Answer 6

coal forms from peat and the remains of dead plants, NOT animals, and is composed mostly of carbon

Answer 7

Schackleton was the explorer who discovered coal.

January 1909, Antarctica, trekking south for 850 miles: Ernest Shackleton (leader), Jameson Adams (meterologist), Eric Marshall (surgeon and cartographer), and Frank Wild (provisions).
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200 miles from the pole, they discover coal. They're on the Polar Plateau at an altitude of 10,200 feet, a blizzard rages. That day they make only 4 miles. Weak from lack of food, hands and feet close to frostbite, they struggle into a headwind. The record doesn't show who noticed the coal seam but someone in their party did. They brought back samples and mapped the vein. It's on top of the Beardmore Glacier near Mount Buckley.

"Coal in Antarctica?!!" The question must have jolted their weary minds. Coal comes from fossilized plants. Long ago, it must have been warm enough for plants to grow: in ice-bound Antarctica.
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Ok, word for word, here is a webquest report on the subject.
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Introduction

Two hundred million years ago, all of the continents on Earth were joined in one large supercontinent scientists call Pangaea. The formation of Pangaea dried up many shallow seas, which led to the evolution of new species on land. This is the time during which mammals first began to appear. During the Mesozoic Era, around 190 million years ago, Pangaea began to break up. The breakup resulted in two landmasses: Laurasia, the northern group of continents, and Gondwanaland, the southern group of continents. Gondwanaland included South America, Antarctica, Australia, Africa, and India. By the end of the Cretaceous Period 65 million years ago, Africa and South America had moved apart. By 43 million years ago, Australia and Antarctica had separated and moved to their present locations.

How do we know that these events actually happened? You have probably noticed that South America and Africa seem to fit together like puzzle pieces. Because of this fit, many people wondered if the continents once were joined. A German scientist named Alfred Wegener proposed that all of the continents once had been joined in a supercontinent that he called Pangaea. He suggested that Pangaea began to break apart millions of years ago, and that the continents continued to move until they reached their present locations. He called his hypothesis continental drift. Today, Wegener�s hypothesis is known as the theory of plate tectonics. Wegener was the first scientist to base his hypothesis on more than the fit of the continents. He collected data on rock formations, fossils, and climates to support his hypothesis. Wegener found the same rock formations and fossils in Africa, South America, and Antarctica. Some of the fossils were of species that grew in only one type of climate, yet the fossils were found on continents with differing climates. How could there be fossils of tropical and temperate climate species in Antarctica, a continent that is permanently covered with ice and snow? Have any fossils been found in Antarctica that can support Wegener�s hypothesis, and thus, the theory of plate tectonics?

Your job in this WebQuest is to discover what fossils have been found in Antarctica, and to identify how those fossils either support or disprove Wegener�s hypothesis and the theory of plate tectonics. You will have to find out what kinds of fossils have been found in Antarctica. You will have to discover how to interpret the meaning of these fossils as indicators of the climate that once prevailed in Antarctica. Finally, you will answer a set of questions about the fossils of Antarctica to demonstrate what you have learned.

Resources

Look at the web sites given here to find the information that will enable you to answer questions about Antarctica fossils.

* Marine Fossils from Antarctica. Visit this site for an overview of the fossils found in Antarctica and what they reveal about the past climate and geographical location of Antarctica. Scroll down to see photographs of some of the fossils found on Vega Island, an island just off the coast of Antarctica.

* New Dinosaur Finds In Antarctica Paint Fuller Picture of Past Ecosystem. Visit this site to learn why the discovery of a hadrosaur, a duck-billed dinosaur, in Antarctica is an important clue to the climate of the continent 66 to 67 million years ago.

* Antarctic Dinosaurs. At this site you can learn more about the first dinosaur fossils found in Antarctica, including a Late Cretaceous ankylosaur found on James Ross Island in 1986. Scroll down to find out why so few dinosaur fossils have been found on this continent.

* Fossils From Mesozoic Era Antarctica. Go to this site for a brief discussion of continental drift (now called plate tectonics) and how it affected Antarctica. There is a good map of Antarctica here. Scroll down to see an interactive graphic of continental drift with a key to the continents. Continue to scroll down to see a list of fossils found in Antarctica.

* When Dinosaurs Roamed Antarctica� Visit this site to read about dinosaur and reptile fossils found in the Transantarctic Mountains. These fossils are from the middle Jurassic, about 175 million years ago.

* The Lost World Discovered? At this site you can read an overview of the fossils found in Antarctica from the first expeditions to the present. This site includes a short history of human presence on Antarctica as well.

* Secrets of the Ice: Antarctica in the Past. Visit this site to learn about the geologic history of Antarctica. Scroll down to see an interactive graphic of the breakup of Gondwanaland and the subsequent movement of Antarctica to its present location.

* Antarctic Summer - Fossils in Antarctica This report by ABC News Online discusses the issues surrounding fossils that were found in Antarctica in 1978. Read the report to learn what types of fossils were found and what is being done to preserve the exposed fossils that still exist.



Questions about the Fossils of Antarctica

1. What were the first fossils found in Antarctica? Where and when were they found?
2. What was the first dinosaur fossil found in Antarctica? Where and when was it found?
3. What dinosaur fossil was found on Vega Island in 1986?
4. What are the two reasons the fossil found on Vega Island is of particular importance to understanding the climate and location of Antarctica millions of years ago?
5. The first dinosaur fossil and the fossil found on Vega Island in 1986 were representative of what geologic time period?
6. What dinosaur fossil was found in the Transantarctic Mountains in the summer of 1990-1991? During what geologic time period did this dinosaur live?
7. Besides the fossils already discussed, name the other fossil animals that have been found in Antarctica.
8. Why have so few dinosaur fossils been found in Antarctica?
9. Early expeditions to Antarctica reported on seeing fossils, but they did not collect them. Who first reported seeing fossils of leaves and stems of plants? Who reported finding beds of coal near the South Pole?
10. How do plant fossils and beds of coal support the idea that Antarctica once was warmer than it is today?

Conclusion

In the process of completing this WebQuest, you�ve become informed about the fossils found in Antarctica, and what those fossils tell us about the climate and location of Antarctica millions of years ago. You have learned that some dinosaur fossils found in Antarctica were previously found only in the Americas. You have discovered that some Antarctica fossils were of species that could live only in temperate or tropical climates. You have developed research skills as you explored the web sites given and identified the relevant information to answer the set of questions above. Do you agree with Wegener that Antarctica must have had a warmer climate millions of years ago? Do you think that the information you have gathered about Antarctic fossils supports the theory of plate tectonics?