Seafloor spreading is a part of the theory of plate tectonics.
Sea floor spreading for dummies.
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.
Geophysicist frederick john vine and the canadian.
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.
Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads out laterally away from them.
The seafloor moves and carries continents with it.
Sea floor spreading is the process by which continental drift occurs.
Seafloor spreading happens at the bottom of an ocean as tectonic plates move apart.
The term spreading of the seafloor was introduced by geophysicist robert s.
Seafloor spreading happens at the bottom of an ocean as tectonic plates move apart.
At ridges in the middle of oceans new oceanic crust is created.
Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor.
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.
The seafloor moves and carries continents with it.
It is fundamental to geologic thinking and the science of geology.
For instance the atlantic ocean is believed to be expanding because of its few trenches.
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.
Harry hess proposed the seafloor spreading hypothesis in 1960 published in 1962.
Uniformitarianism in geology the doctrine suggesting that earth s geologic processes acted in the same manner and with essentially the same intensity in the past as they do in the present and that such uniformity accounts for all geologic change.
This seafloor spreading hypothesis had been proposed a few years earlier by harry hess a petrologist at princeton university and robert dietz an oceanographer in the us coast and geodetic survey the federal department that made maps of the oceans and us coastlines.
Hess went on to say that as the ocean crust spreads and cools over millions.
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.
According to hess seafloor was created at mid oceanic ridges by the convection of the earth s mantle pushing and spreading the older crust away from the ridge.
