ppt课件-sea floor spreading- fort bend i s d（海底扩张-本德堡我s d）.pptVIP

Sea Floor Spreading Mid-Ocean Ridge Longest chain of mountains in the world (50,000 km long!) Mostly underwater Iceland part of Mid-Ocean Ridge We use sonar to map the ocean floor How was the Ridge Made? Harry Hess, studied the mid-ocean ridge 1960 he suggested ocean floor like conveyor belts, carrying continents with them Movement begins at mid-ocean ridge What Happens? At the mid-ocean ridge, molten material rises from the mantle and erupts. The molten material then spreads out, pushing older rock to both sides of the ridge. Sea-Floor Spreading Sea-floor spreading: the process that continually adds new material to the ocean floor. Evidence for Sea-floor spreading: Molten material Magnetic stripes Drilling samples Evidence: Molten Material Rocks shaped like pillows found – only forms when molten material hardens quickly Evidence: Magnetic Stripes Magnetic field around Earth Poles have reversed themselves (last time 780,000 years ago) Magnetized “stripes” on ocean floor hold record of reversed poles Evidence: Drilling Samples Rocks drilled from ocean floor Age of rocks determined Further away from ridge, older the rock Youngest rock found in the center of the ridge Subduction at Deep-Ocean Trenches How can the ocean floor keep getting wider and wider? Floor plunges into deep underwater canyons called deep-ocean trenches These occur where oceanic crust bends downward * p. 331-337 Alvin Scientists inside 4 km deep *