Sea Floor Spreading Definition Quizlet

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

Sea floor spreading definition quizlet.

Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads out laterally away from them. The process of subduction and sea floor spreading can change the size and shape of the oceans. Subduction and sea floor spreading are processes that could alter the size and form of the ocean. Spreading rate is the rate at which an ocean basin widens due to seafloor spreading.

Magma cools to form new ocean floor. Magma from the asthenosphere fills cracks in the ocean crust along mid ocean ridges. Ocean floor eventually settles back into the mantle at the subduction zone. Because of these processes the ocean floor is renewed about every 200 million years.

Start studying seafloor spreading. 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. The sequence of sea floor spreading is 1. Due to this continuous seafloor spreading occurs and makes atlantic ocean floor to be connected to other continental crust making the ocean gets wider over the time.

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. 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. In sea floor spreading the sea floor spreads apart along both sides of a mid ocean ridge as new crust is added. 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.

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. Choose from 500 different sets of sea floor spreding flashcards on quizlet. Spreading rates determine if the ridge is fast intermediate or slow. As a result the ocean floors move like conveyor belts carrying the continents along with them.

Learn sea floor spreding with free interactive flashcards.