Sea Floor Spreading Definition Short

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.

Sea floor spreading definition short.

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. Wherever the sea floor is spreading the edges move apart while the magma in the middle hardens. 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. At ridges in the middle of oceans new oceanic crust is created.

That means the rock in the center is the youngest. Because of these processes the ocean floor is renewed about every 200 million years. 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. 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.

Spreading rates determine if the ridge is fast intermediate or slow. Seafloor spreading definition is the divergence at mid ocean ridges of the tectonic plates underlying the oceans that is due to upwelling from the earth s interior of magma which solidifies and adds to the spreading plates. 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. Sea floor spreading synonyms sea floor spreading pronunciation sea floor spreading translation english dictionary definition of sea floor spreading.

Seafloor spreading happens at the bottom of an ocean as tectonic plates move apart. Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads out laterally away from them. Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor. Nounin 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 the continuous lateral displacement of existing oceanic crust.

The seafloor moves and carries continents with it. The process of subduction and sea floor spreading can change the size and shape of the oceans.