Sea Floor Spreading Occurs Because

Ocean floor rocks are continental rocks.

Sea floor spreading occurs because. The discovery of marine magnetic anomalies was so important to the theory of seafloor spreading because they passive continental coastlines that occur within the interior of a tectonic plate are called margins. The alignment of iron bering minerals in rocks when they formed reflects the fact earth s has reversed itself several times in the past. At the weak point the crust spreads to each side moving the sea floor along with it. For instance the atlantic ocean is believed to be expanding because of its few trenches.

When oceanic plates diverge tensional stress causes fractures to occur in the lithosphere. 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. Where does sea floor spreading occur. As it passes through iceland it is visible from the surface.

Subduction and sea floor spreading are processes that could alter the size and form of the ocean. Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor. Due to this continuous seafloor spreading occurs and makes atlantic ocean floor to be connected to other continental crust making the ocean gets wider over the time. Seafloor spreading occurs where the crust is thin and magma is pushing upward.

The motivating force for seafloor spreading ridges is tectonic plate slab pull at subduction zones rather than magma pressure although there is typically. New material is being added to the asthenosphere earthquakes break apart the ocean floor sediments accumulate on the ocean floor hot less dense material below earth s crust is forced upward toward the surface. 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. It is a constant spreading but may vary its speed depending on the upward pressure.

The mid atlantic ridge is well known. Molten material erups the central valley of mid ocean ridges. A deep ocean trench is an underwater. Seafloor spreading helps to explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics.

Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads out laterally away from them.