Seafloor Spreading
Seafloor spreading, a fundamental geophysical process, shapes the Earth's crust and underlies the dynamic nature of our planet's surface. Occurring along mid-ocean ridges, this phenomenon involves the divergence of tectonic plates, leading to the creation of new oceanic crust. As magma rises from the mantle, it solidifies upon reaching the seafloor, continuously pushing the existing plates apart. First proposed by geophysicists Harry Hess and Robert Dietz in the early 1960s, seafloor spreading provides a key insight into plate tectonics, offering a comprehensive understanding of the Earth's ever-changing geological landscape.
Questions
- Which seismic wave travels fastest?
- What are some of the main mid-ocean ridges on earth?
- What are the features of the North Pacific Ocean basin described in terms of seafloor spreading?
- How is the Earth's crust changing and how do we know?
- Why is the seafloor crust younger than the continental crust?
- Where are the oldest parts of the oceanic crust found?
- How can seafloor spreading be detected?
- How are plate tectonics and seafloor spreading related?
- What is the basic cause of the physical events that characterize the Ring of Fire?
- Where does seafloor spreading occur?
- How are the reversals of the earth's magnetic field recorded on the seafloor?
- How are plate tectonics and seafloor spreading related?
- How do differences in density and temperature cause sea-floor spreading and subduction?
- How does seafloor spreading cause continents to drift?
- What is a mid-ocean ridge?
- How is lava produced at a mid-ocean ridge?
- Suppose you are studying the motion of one of Earth's plates. What units would you probabiy use to describe its speed?
- Why is old oceanic crust more dense than new oceanic crust?
- What happens along a transform plate boundary?
- What does a subducting oceanic plate do?