Seafloor Spreading Explained

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Seafloor spreading explained.

Mantle convection is the slow churning motion of earth s mantle. As upwelling of magma continues the plates continue to diverge a process known as seafloor spreading 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. The oceanic crust is composed of rocks that move away from the ridge as new crust is being formed. Seafloor spreading happens at the bottom of an ocean as tectonic plates move apart.

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. At ridges in the middle of oceans new oceanic crust is created. Convection currents carry heat from the lower mantle and core to the lithosphere. The process begins when the crust is heated from beneath by upwelling in the mantle sometimes called a mantle plume.

When oceanic plates diverge tensional stress causes fractures to occur in the lithosphere. This video goes over the process of sea floor spreading and the evidence that supports this theory. Learn more about sea floor spreading and how it works with this demo. 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.

This creates a three armed rift called a triple junction usually with each rift at a. Its discovery provided a mechanism for continental drift that alfred wegener could not explain. The seafloor moves and carries continents with it. Seafloor spreading is a part of plate tectonics.

These age data also allow the rate of seafloor spreading to be determined and they show that rates. Convection currents also recycle lithospheric materials back to the mantle. The formation of the new crust is due to the rising of the molten material magma from the mantle by convection current. The process of sea floor spreading.

Seafloor spreading and other tectonic activity processes are the result of mantle convection. Seafloor spreading is a constant geologic phenomenon and a primary driver of continental drift. Seafloor spreading helps to explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics.