Sea Floor Spreading Occurs Along The Mid Ocean Ridge

Age of oceanic lithosphere.

Sea floor spreading occurs along the mid ocean ridge. Seafloor spreading was proposed by an american geophysicist harry h. 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 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. The earthquakes and volcanoes of the pacific ring of fire are associated with plate boundaries.

A geologist aboard a deep sea research vessel has collected several drill cores of oceanic crust from the bottom of the ocean. Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones known collectively as the mid ocean ridge system and spreads out laterally away from them. 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. Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor.

Core a1 has 2 88 meters m of clay and siliceous ooze covering 4 86 m of pillow basalt. The mid ocean ridge is where the seafloor spreading occurs in which tectonic plates large slabs of earth s lithosphere split apart from each other. Rift zones oceanic ridges are elevated compared to the surrounding ocean floor because. Magma is pushed up through cracks in the crust along the mid ocean ridge.

As the plates separate molten rock rises to the seafloor producing enormous. Youngest red is along spreading centers. Seafloor spreading occurs along. Mid ocean ridges occur along divergent plate boundaries where new ocean floor is created as the earth s tectonic plates spread apart.

Sea floor spreading occurs when the sea floor spreads apart along divergent boundaries and forms the mid ocean ridge. As the magma is thrust up and hardens it forms new crust and the ocean floor on both sides of the mid ocean ridge move outward. The majority of the system is underwater with an average water depth to the top of the ridge of 2 500 meters 8 200 feet. The cores are collected in order from east to west along the bottom of the basin and are labeled a1 b1 c1 and d1 respectively.

Seafloor spreading occurs along relatively narrow areas at the crests of oceanic ridges called.