Sea Floor Spreading Separating Tectonic Plates

Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor.

Sea floor spreading separating tectonic plates.

To a first approximation the surface of the earth can be regarded as being composed of a number of rigid crustal. 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. According to the theory of plate tectonics the earth s lithosphere is broken into distinct plates which are. 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. Isacks et al 1968. It makes up 28 of the earth s surface and is home to the world s deepest oceanic trench the mariana trench. The pacific ocean is the world s largest ocean.

These age data also allow the rate of seafloor spreading to be. One important way in which dietz s theory of sea floor spreading differed from hess was that dietz correctly surmised that the lithosphere was moving on top of the plastic asthenosphere with the convection currents where as hess suggested the the base of the crust was moving with currents. In 1967 mckenzie and parker suggested the theory of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics it was from the continental drift theory convection current theory and the theory of seafloor spreading the theory of plate tectonics was formulated.

Plate tectonics plate tectonics seafloor spreading. When oceanic plates diverge tensional stress causes fractures to occur in the lithosphere. But the pacific ocean is slowly shrinking at a rate of 0 5 square kilometers 0 19 square miles per year due to plate tectonics. The motivating force for seafloor spreading ridges is tectonic plate slab pull at subduction zones rather than magma pressure although there is typically.

Dietz 1961 1968 and plate tectonics mckenzie and parker 1967. 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. 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. Enjoy the videos and music you love upload original content and share it all with friends family and the world on youtube.

As upwelling of magma continues the plates continue to diverge a process known as seafloor spreading. Morgan later outlined the theory in 1968. The theory may be stated simply as follows. The hypotheses of sea floor spreading hess 1968.