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.
Sea floor spreading separating tectonic plates.
It is massive with an estimated area of 63 8 million square miles and an average depth of 13 000 feet.
Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor.
To a first approximation the surface of the earth can be regarded as being composed of a number of rigid crustal.
When oceanic plates diverge tensional stress causes fractures to occur in the lithosphere.
Plate tectonics plate tectonics seafloor spreading.
Dietz 1961 1968 and plate tectonics mckenzie and parker 1967.
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 theory may be stated simply as follows.
Morgan later outlined the theory in 1968.
Seafloor spreading helps to explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics.
Plate tectonics it was from the continental drift theory convection current theory and the theory of seafloor spreading the theory of plate tectonics was formulated.
Image of sea floor spreading 1.
Enjoy the videos and music you love upload original content and share it all with friends family and the world on youtube.
Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads out laterally away from them.
The pacific ocean is the world s largest ocean.
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.
As upwelling of magma continues the plates continue to diverge a process known as seafloor spreading.
The hypotheses of sea floor spreading hess 1968.
It makes up 28 of the earth s surface and is home to the world s deepest oceanic trench the mariana trench.
One important way in which dietz s theory of sea floor spreading differed from hess was that dietz correctly surmised that the lithosphere was moving on top of the plastic asthenosphere with the convection currents where as hess suggested the the base of the crust was moving with currents.
In 1967 mckenzie and parker suggested the theory of plate tectonics.
But the pacific ocean is slowly shrinking at a rate of 0 5 square kilometers 0 19 square miles per year due to plate tectonics.
According to the theory of plate tectonics the earth s lithosphere is broken into distinct plates which are.
Le pichon 1968 have led to a fundamental new approach to many geologic problems.
