What Does Sea Floor Spreading Mean. Seafloor spreading is a process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the ridge. Seafloor spreading is a process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the ridge.
These age data also allow the rate of seafloor spreading to be determined and they show that rates vary. Geological Science a series of processes in which new oceanic lithosphere is created at oceanic ridges spreads away from the ridges and returns to the earths interior along subduction zones. Oceanic crust is continually produced by magma welling up along the centerlines of the mid-ocean ridges.
Match the feature on Mars with the best terrestrial analogy.
The oldest known ocean floor is dated at about 200 million years indicating that older ocean floor has been destroyed through subduction. The oldest crust is coldest and lies deepest in the ocean because it is less buoyant than the hot new crust. See more at magnetic reversal. In the theory of plate tectonics the process by which new oceanic crust is formed by the convective upwelling of magma at mid-ocean ridges resulting in the continuous lateral displacement of.
