Seafloor Spreading Demonstration
This week i came up with an effective demonstration for modeling the process of seafloor spreading.
Seafloor spreading demonstration. 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. Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads out laterally away from them. Using four rectangular labs tables and two bed sheets i created a movable seafloor that can model a divergent boundary and a convergent boundary.
Spreading rates determine if the ridge is fast intermediate or slow. 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.