Sea Floor Spreading Definition Geography

The concept of seafloor spreading was put forward by h harry hess an american geologist.

Sea floor spreading definition geography. 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 east pacific rise is a mid ocean ridge that runs through the eastern pacific ocean and separates the pacific plate from the north american. He suggested that new sea floor forms at the oceanic ridges and spread outwards from the line of origin. He suggested that continents moved around the earth like giant rafts. Plate tectonics theory convection currents and sea floor spreading.

Alfred wegener a german meteorologist born in 1880 developed the idea of continental drift. Spreading rates determine if the ridge is fast intermediate or slow. Oceanography compound of the greek words ὠκεανός meaning ocean and γράφω meaning write also known as oceanology is the study of the physical and biological aspects of the ocean it is an important earth science which covers a wide range of topics including ecosystem dynamics. Further he claimed that continents would be pushed aside by the same forces that cause the ocean to grow.

Fellow scientists at the time thought the theory was ludicrous. Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor. Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads out laterally away from them. Plate tectonics and the geology of the sea.

Enjoy the videos and music you love upload original content and share it all with friends family and the world on youtube. The rate at which new oceanic lithosphere is added to each tectonic plate on either side of a mid ocean ridge is the spreading half rate and is equal to half of the spreading rate. World war ii gave scientists the tools to find the mechanism for continental drift that had eluded wegener. Geography and other reference data is for informational purposes only.

Seafloor spreading definition a process in which new ocean floor is created as molten material from the earth s mantle rises in margins between plates or ridges and spreads out. Spreading rate is the rate at which an ocean basin widens due to seafloor spreading. Ocean currents waves and geophysical fluid dynamics. This information should not be considered complete up to date and is not intended to be.

Sea floor spreading synonyms sea floor spreading pronunciation sea floor spreading translation english dictionary definition of sea floor spreading.