The Seafloor Spreading Theory

These cornerstones are convectional current theory and paleomagnetism.

The seafloor spreading theory.

In 1912 when alfred wegener proposed that the continents had once been joined together and had split apart the biggest weakness in his hypothesis was the. The plates on either side of the. Seafloor spreading disproves an early part of the theory of continental drift. What evidence supports hess s theory of seafloor spreading.

Seafloor spreading theory of lithospheric evolution that holds that the ocean floors are spreading outward from vast underwater ridges. First proposed in the early 1960s by the american geologist harry h. Convection current theory convection current theory is the soul of seafloor spreading theory. The direction iron in ocean rocks points d.

Seafloor spreading helps to explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics. Pillow shaped rocks found in the sea. Check all that apply. The age of different rocks on earth s surface e.

Hess its major tenets gave great support to the theory of continental drift continental drift geological theory that the relative positions of the continents on the earth s surface have. The theory of seafloor spreading. Sea floor spreading theory. 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.

It leads to the formation of new material on the ridge. Supporters of continental drift originally theorized that the continents moved drifted through unmoving oceans. Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones known collectively as the mid ocean ridge system and spreads out laterally away from them. 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.

When oceanic plates diverge tensional stress causes fractures to occur in the lithosphere. According to hess s theory what might happen if the magma under a mid ocean ridge cools. Seafloor spreading proves that the ocean itself is a site of tectonic activity. The motivating force for seafloor spreading ridges is tectonic plate slab pull at subduction zones rather than magma pressure although there is typically.

To understand the concept of seafloor spreading we must first understand some basic concepts that form the cornerstones for the concept of seafloor spreading. These age data also allow the rate of seafloor spreading to be determined and they show that rates.