The Process Of Seafloor Spreading Does Not Produce New Seafloor

The process of sea floor spreading.

The process of seafloor spreading does not produce new seafloor. The mid ocean ridge is the region where new oceanic crust is created. Basalt the once molten rock that makes up most new oceanic crust is a fairly magnetic substance and scientists began using magnetometers to measure the magnetism of the ocean floor in the 1950s what they discovered was that the magnetism of the ocean floor around. Paleomagnetism led the revival of the continental drift hypothesis and its transformation into theories of sea floor spreading and plate tectonics. The formation of the new crust is due to the rising of the molten material magma from the mantle by convection current.

Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads out laterally away from them. 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. Seafloor spreading can stop during the process but if it continues to the point that the continent is completely severed then a new ocean basin is created. The oceanic crust is composed of rocks that move away from the ridge as new crust is being formed.

These age data also allow the rate of seafloor spreading to be determined and they show that rates. The red sea has not yet completely split arabia from africa but a similar feature can be found on the other side of africa that has broken completely free. The regions that hold the unique record of earth s magnetic field lie along the mid ocean ridges where the sea floor is spreading. 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.

Strong evidence of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics.