Sea Floor Spreading On The Earth

Ocean basins get narrower as a result of seafloor spreading.

Sea floor spreading on the earth.

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. Sea floor spreading is driven by crust formation along the mid ocean ridges meandering undersea mountain ranges that span earth like the seams of a baseball. Subduction causes continents to move apart. Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads out laterally away from them.

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. Let s explore another idea called seafloor spreading. Seafloor spreading as upwelling of magma continues the plates continue to diverge a process known as seafloor spreading. It creates a pattern of alternating rock stripes on both sides of a mid ocean ridge.

Ocean floor is created by the process of subduction. Radiometric age dating. How does earth s magnetic field provide evidence for seafloor spreading. Seafloor spreading and other tectonic activity processes are the result of mantle convection.

The seafloor drilling system led to the evidence that supports the seafloor spreading hypothesis. Mantle convection is the slow churn ing motion of earth s mantle. Hess s discovery on the warmer temperature near the mid atlantic ridge when he began the ocean. If the oceanic crust reaches a deep sea trench it sinks into the trench and is lost into the mantle.

Seafloor spreading brings them together. Click here if you are a student at snowflake heber or holbrook to access the susd5 student version of seafloor spreading assignment. 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. Evidence of sea floor spreading 1.

In this section we are going to take alfred wegener s thoughts a little further. To keep the earth s surface area constant the amount of seafloor spreading must equal the amount of subduction. The oldest crust is coldest and lies deepest. Purchase this seafloor spreading activity at teachers pay teachers for 1 50 cents.