Seafloor spreading helps explain
continental drift
in the theory of plate tectonics. When oceanic plates diverge, tensional stress causes fractures to occur in the lithosphere. … At a spreading center, basaltic magma rises up the fractures and cools on the ocean floor to form new seabed.
Seafloor spreading occurs
at divergent plate boundaries
. As tectonic plates slowly move away from each other, heat from the mantle’s convection currents makes the crust more plastic and less dense. The less-dense material rises, often forming a mountain or elevated area of the seafloor.
How does the theory of plate tectonics support the theory of seafloor spreading quizlet?
Seafloor spreading helps explain
continental drift
in the theory of plate tectonics. basaltic oceanic crust and overlying sediment become progressively younger as the mid-ocean ridge is approached, and the sediment cover is thinner near the ridge. … Also that the continents are always slowly moving.
What evidence supports the theory of seafloor spreading?
Abundant evidence
supports the major contentions of the seafloor-spreading theory. First, samples of the deep ocean floor show that basaltic oceanic crust and overlying sediment become progressively younger as the mid-ocean ridge is approached, and the sediment cover is thinner near the ridge.
Why is sea floor spreading powerful evidence to support that the continents move?
This supports the theory of seafloor
because as the seafloor spreads the new hot rock moves further away from the ridge and starts to cool
. … This is very strong evidence of seafloor spreading. The last piece of evidence of seafloor spreading occurring is that the ocean floor is younger that the continental plates.
What technological advances led to the theory of plate tectonics?
By explaining both the zebra-like magnetic striping and the construction of the mid-ocean ridge system,
the seafloor spreading hypothesis (SFS)
quickly gained converts and represented another major advance in the development of the plate-tectonics theory.
What are the similarities between plate tectonics and continental drift?
The similarities would be
the movement
and they are both apart of one large theory. The difference between continental drift and plate tectonics is that the theory of continental drift states that the world was made up of a single continent.
What are 2 pieces of evidence supporting seafloor spreading?
Several types of evidence from the oceans supported Hess’s theory of sea-floor spreading-
evidence from molten material, magnetic stripes, and drilling samples
. This evidence also led sci- entists to look again at Wegener’s theory of continental drift.
What is the importance of seafloor spreading?
Seafloor spreading proves that
the ocean itself is a site of tectonic activity
. Seafloor spreading is just one part of plate tectonics. Subduction is another. Subduction happens where tectonic plates crash into each other instead of spreading apart.
Who proposed the theory of seafloor spreading?
Harry Hess
What is seafloor spreading and why is it important?
Today it refers to the
processes creating new oceanic lithosphere
What is the engine that moves the plates?
Lithospheric plates are part of a planetary scale thermal
convection
system. The energy source for plate tectonics is Earth’s internal heat while the forces moving the plates are the “ridge push” and “slab pull” gravity forces. It was once thought that mantle convection could drive plate motions.
What are the features of seafloor?
Features of the ocean include
the continental shelf, slope, and rise
. The ocean floor is called the abyssal plain
What are the 3 theories of plate tectonics?
The three types of plate boundaries are
divergent, convergent, and transform
. They are described in the following three concepts. Most geological activity takes place at plate boundaries.
How did people find out about plate tectonics?
Evidence from fossils, glaciers, and complementary coastlines
helps reveal how the plates once fit together. … Finding identical or similar fossils in areas separated by vast distances were some of the first clues that scientists used to reconstruct past plate movement.
Why do tectonic plates move?
The heat from radioactive processes within the planet’s interior causes the plates
to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other. This movement is called plate motion, or tectonic shift.
