Pole-fleeing force
Also called: Polflucht · Topic: Continental Drift, Sea-floor Spreading and Plate Tectonics · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "Distribution of Oceans and Continents"
Meaning
The pole-fleeing force was one of the two forces Wegener proposed to explain why continents move. It is linked to the earth's rotation, its spinning on its own axis. Rotation makes the earth bulge at the equator, and this force was supposed to push continents away from the poles towards the equator. Wegener believed it would work slowly over millions of years. Most scientists found it far too weak to move whole continents. This "force problem" was a main reason drift was rejected for decades.
Example
The force was linked to the equatorial bulge, the slight swelling of the earth along the equator. In Wegener's view, it would slowly push a continent towards the equator.
Don't confuse with
- Tidal force: The tidal force, Wegener's other force, comes from the pull of the moon and sun. It was meant to move continents westward.
- Earth's revolution: The pole-fleeing force is tied to the earth's rotation, not its revolution around the sun. This is a common exam trap.