Continental drift Continental drift Continental drift is the theory that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed. The speculation that continents might have 'drifted' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596. The concept was independently and more fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912, but his theory was rejected by many for lack of any motive mechanism. Arthur Holmes later proposed mantle convection for that mechanism. The idea of continental drift has since been subsumed by the theory of plate tectonics, which explains that the continents
Institute for the Study of the Americas English Studies and Institute of Historical Research. Institute for the Study of the Americas The Institute for the Study of the Americas (ISA) was established in 2004 following a merger of the Institute of Latin American Studies and the Institute of United States Studies. ISA formed part of the University of London’s School of Advanced Study along with nine other research institutes. In 2013, the Institute of Latin American Studies was re-established in order to focus the support provided to scholars of Latin America. Activities pertaining to the study of the United States continue within the School of Advanced Study