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09 SEAFLOOR SPREADING THEORY

Mrs. Abaggue ||
SCIENCE 10

LEGEND  As the magma on the sea floor cools and hardens by the mid-
Lecturer Module Previous Trans ocean ridge, iron-bearing minerals crystallize and align in the
 direction based on the earth’s magnetic field.
 
Normal polarity- Aligns with the North magnetic pole.
SEAFLOOR SPREADING THEORY Reversed polarity- Aligns with the South magnetic pole.
Hot, less dense material from below the Earth’s crust rises  Over the last 10 million years, there has been an average of 4
towards the surface at the mid-ocean ridge. This material flows sideways to 5 reversals per million years.
carrying the seafloor away from the ridge and creating a crack in the  New rocks are added to the ocean floor at the ridge with
crust. The magma flows out of the crust, cools down, and becomes the approximately equal amounts on both sides of the oceanic
new seafloor. Over time, the new oceanic crust pushed the old oceanic ridge.
crust far from the ridge.  The stripes on both sides are equal in size and polarity which
seemed to be mirror images across the ocean ridge.
Mid-Atlantic Ridges
 Long chain of underwater mountains that stretches around the
entire earth.
 Gigantic cleft about 32-48 km long and 1.6 km deep.

Sonar
 It is sound navigation which uses sound waves to explore and
map the ocean because sound waves travel farther in the water
than radar and light waves. It measures how long it takes for
the sound wave to travel down, hit an object, and then bounce Additional Information
back up.  1950s and 1960s- New techniques and modern gadgets
enabled scientists to make better observations and gather new
Harry H. Hess information about the ocean floor.
 May 24, 1906-August 25, 1969  With the use of sonar and submersibles, scientists had a
clearer view of the ocean floor.
 An American Geologist and a US Navy Officer in WW2.

Robert S. Dietz
 September 14, 1914-May 19, 1995
 An American Geophysicist and Oceanographer.
 An officer in the US Army Air Corps during WW2.

Ocean Floor Rock Ages

 Rocks are younger at the mid-ocean ridge.
 Rocks far from the mid-ocean ridge are older.
 Sediments are thinner at the ridge.
 Rocks on the ocean floor are younger than those on the
continents.

Magnetic Reversal

 The earth’s magnetic field is a dipole with the North Pole and
the South Pole.
 It is also called a magnetic ‘flip’ of the earth since it happens
when the North Pole is transformed into the South Pole and in
vice versa. This is due to the change in the direction of flow in
the outer core.
 The occurrence of magnetic reversals can be explained through
the magnetic patterns in the magnetic rocks, especially those
found on the ocean floor.

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