Sea Floor Spreading Definition Simple Answer

At ridges in the middle of oceans new oceanic crust is created.

Sea floor spreading definition simple answer.

The seafloor moves and carries continents with it. Because of these processes the ocean floor is renewed about every 200 million years. 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. Plate tectonics and the geology of the sea.

That is the time it takes for new rock to form at the mid ocean ridge move atoss the ocean and sink into a trench. Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor. 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. 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.

The process of subduction and sea floor spreading can change the size and shape of the oceans. In the theory of plate tectonics the process by which new oceanic crust is formed by the convective upwelling of magma at mid ocean ridges resulting in. 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. Ocean currents waves and geophysical fluid dynamics.

The motivating force for seafloor spreading ridges is tectonic plate pull rather than magma pressure although there is typically significant magma activity at spreading ridges. Seafloor spreading happens at the bottom of an ocean as tectonic plates move apart. Sea floor spreading synonyms sea floor spreading pronunciation sea floor spreading translation english dictionary definition of sea floor spreading. 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.

Spreading rates determine if the ridge is fast intermediate or slow. But in 1962 a geologist and u s. Navy reserve rear admiral named harry hess came up with an answer. 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 answer choices.

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