Sea Floor Spreading Picture

This creates a three armed rift called a triple junction usually with each rift at a.

Sea floor spreading picture.

If seafloor spreading drives the plates what drives seafloor 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. See more ideas about seafloor spreading earth science plate tectonics. 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. The process begins when the crust is heated from beneath by upwelling in the mantle sometimes called a mantle plume. The following features are shown at example depths to scale though each feature has a considerable range at which it may occur. Seafloor spreading helps to explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics when oceanic plates diverge tensional stress causes fractures to occur in the lithosphere the motivating force for seafloor spreading ridges is tectonic plate slab pull at subduction zones rather than magma pressure although there is typically significant magma activity at spreading ridges.

Hot mantle from the two adjacent cells rises at the ridge axis creating new ocean crust. Igneous rocks rise along conduits from the mantle giving rise to volcanic activity in a narrow band along the mid ocean ridges as these cool the basaltic lavas and dykes form the upper part of the oceanic crust and the underlying magma chamber solidifies to. World war ii gave scientists the tools to find the mechanism for continental drift that had eluded wegener. For instance the atlantic ocean is believed to be expanding because of its few trenches.

This graphic shows several ocean floor features on a scale from 0 35 000 feet below sea level. Subduction and sea floor spreading are processes that could alter the size and form of the ocean. Sea floor spreading the theory that the ocean floor is created at the spreading accretionary plate margins within the ocean basins. Apr 6 2020 explore marion mcclary s board seafloor spreading on pinterest.

Continental shelf 300 feet continental slope 300 10 000 feet abyssal plain 10 000 feet abyssal hill 3 000 feet up from the abyssal plain seamount 6 000 feet. Seafloor spreading is a constant geologic phenomenon and a primary driver of continental drift. 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.