Sea Floor Spreading Article And Questions

As the ocean seafloor spreads the newly formed floor will adapt a specific magnetic signature according to the earth s magnetic pole at that time.

Sea floor spreading article and questions.

As upwelling of magma continues the plates continue to diverge a process known as seafloor spreading samples collected from the ocean floor show that the age of oceanic crust increases with distance from the spreading centre important evidence in favour of this process. The oceanic crust is composed of rocks that move away from the ridge as new crust is being formed. Seafloor spreading is happening. Seafloor spreading is a process that occurs at mid ocean ridges where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the ridge.

The process of sea floor spreading the mid ocean ridge is the region where new oceanic crust is created. Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads out laterally away from them. It is an underwater mountain range that forms when magma pushes up on the crust at a divergent boundary. This is a mid ocean ridge.

The east pacific rise is a mid ocean ridge that runs through the eastern pacific ocean and separates the pacific plate from the north american plate the cocos plate the nazca plate and the antarctic plate. As years pass lateral segments of seafloor will thus share the same. The mid atlantic ridge for instance separates the north american plate from the eurasian plate and the south american plate from the african plate. The formation of the new crust is due to the rising of the molten material magma from the mantle by convection current.

Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor. This idea played a pivotal role in the development of the theory of plate tectonics which revolutionized geologic thought during the last quarter of the 20th century. The rate of seafloor spreading is approximately every 10 years. Seafloor spreading is consistent at all mid ocean ridges.

These age data also allow the rate of seafloor spreading to be determined and they show that rates. Sea floor spreading occurs at the divergent plate boundaries.