STUDYING SEAFLOOR SPREADING

Kyle Gerard M. Gastar Science 10

10A – Virtucio 09 / 12 / 22

What is Seafloor Spreading?

The hypothesis that oceanic crust originates along undersea mountain zones, known collectively as the mid-ocean ridge
system, and spreads out laterally away from them is known as seafloor spreading. This concept was crucial in the development
of plate tectonics theory, which transformed geologic thought in the final part of the twentieth century.

In 1960, the American geophysicist Harry H. Hess suggested the seafloor spreading concept. Hess proposed that molten
material from the Earth's mantle continually wells up along the crests of the mid-ocean ridges that wind for about 80,000 km
(50,000 miles) through all of the world's seas, based on Tharp's efforts and other new findings regarding the deep-ocean floor.
As the magma cools, it is pushed away from the ridges' sides. This spreading produces a younger ocean bottom, and the
movement of material is supposed to cause the continents to migrate, or drift away. All continents surrounding the Atlantic
Ocean, for instance, are thought to be migrating away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at a pace of 1-2 cm (0.4-0.8 inch) every year,
doubling the ocean basin's breadth. Where continents are bounded by deep-sea trench systems, such as the Pacific Ocean, the
ocean floor sinks downward, under thrusting the continents and eventually re-joining and disintegrating in the Earth's mantle,
where it originated.

Steps of the seafloor spreading

 Magma spews forth from the rift valley.

 Magma starts to cool and solidifies to become rock.
 At Mid ocean Ridge, rock is shoved aside while new
rock forms.
 At the trench, the oceanic and continental crusts
converge.
 Underneath the continental crust, the oceanic crust
reaches down.
 Gravitational forces draw the rock to the mantle.
 The rock dissolves into the mantle.

Evidence of seafloor spreading

Molten substance

When Hess began surveying the water, he discovered greater temperatures along the mid-Atlantic ridge, which led to
indications of molten material beneath the ocean. The surface state on the mid-oceanic ridge differed greatly from other
surfaces outside the region due to the greater temperature. He detailed how molten magma from the mantle erupted due to
convection currents in the earth's core. The convection current was caused by radioactive radiation from the earth's core,
which causes minerals in the lower mantle to warm up, become less dense, and ascend. The materials travel through the upper
mantle and seep through the crustal plates. This raises the temperature along the mid-oceanic ridge.

Exploration of the seafloor

The seabed drilling system produced evidence that supports the notion of seafloor spreading. The seabed drill samples show
that the rocks farthest from the mid-oceanic ridge were older than the rocks closer to it. The ancient rocks were also denser
and thicker than the mid-oceanic ridge's thinner and less dense rocks. This implies that the magma leaking from the ridge
pushes the ancient rocks away, and as they get further away, they are more likely to become older, denser, and thicker. The
newest, thinnest crust, on the other hand, is found towards the middle of the mid-ocean ridge, which is the actual site of
seafloor spreading.
Radiometric dating along with fossil dating

It was also discovered that the sea bottom rocks are younger than the continental rocks using radiometric age dating and fossil
ages. Although continental rocks are thought to have formed 3 billion years ago, sediment samples from the ocean floor are
just 200 million years old. It is undeniable that the creation of rocks on the sea floor is the result of material reabsorption.

Magnetic stripes

A magnetic survey of the mid-ocean ridge was done in the twentieth century to seek for signs of sea-floor spreading. The
magnetic polarity will be presented through a timeframe that includes both the normal and reverse polarity by utilizing the
magnetometer. The minerals in the rocks are orientated in the opposite direction as the magnetic field. The magnetic field
patterns will next be matched to the ages of the rocks. The magnetic stripes were used to investigate the mid-ocean ridge,
which led in the three findings. First, bands of normal and reversed polarity alternated throughout the ocean floor. Second, the
alternating stripes of normal and reversed polarity generated a mirror image on the other side of the ridge. The third is the

Seafloor Spreading Diagram

Sources:

https://quizlet.com/176177216/sea-floor-spreading-steps-flash-cards/
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "seafloor spreading". Encyclopaedia Britannica, 12 May. 2020,
https://www.britannica.com/science/seafloor-spreading. Accessed 13 September 2022.
https://eartheclipse.com/science/geology/theory-and-evidence-of-seafloor-spreading.html