The mid ocean ridge is the region where new oceanic crust is created.
In sea floor spreading pieces of oceanic crust.
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.
Basalt the once molten rock that makes up most new oceanic crust is a fairly magnetic substance and scientists began using magnetometers to measure the magnetism of the ocean floor in the 1950s what they discovered was that the magnetism of the ocean floor around.
On the other hand unlike puzzle pieces some plates are being pushed underneath other plates usually oceanic under continental and new crust is being formed at spreading rifts.
Move together along a convergent plate boundary.
The magnetism of mid ocean ridges helped scientists first identify the process of seafloor spreading in the early 20th century.
Move apart along a divergent plate boundary.
The second piece of evidence in support of continental drift came during the late 1950s and early 60s from data on the bathymetry of the deep ocean floors and the nature of the oceanic crust such as magnetic properties and more generally with the development of marine geology which gave evidence for the association of seafloor spreading along.
Age of oceanic lithosphere.
Move down in a subduction zone.
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.
Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads out laterally away from them.
Move sideways against each other along a transform plate boundary.
These age data also allow the rate of seafloor spreading to be determined and they show that rates.
Youngest red is along spreading centers.
In sea floor spreading pieces of oceanic crust.
The formation of the new crust is due to the rising of the molten material magma from the mantle by convection current.