The Seafloor Spreading Hypothesis

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.

The seafloor spreading hypothesis.

Mantle convection is the slow churn ing motion of earth s mantle. Resulted in a ground breaking hypothesis that later would be called seafloor spreading. Seafloor spreading is a geologic process in which tectonic plate s large slabs of earth s lithosphere split apart from each other. Seafloor spreading and other tectonic activity processes are the result of mantle convection.

Hess its major tenets gave great support to the theory of continental drift continental drift. Magma at the mid ocean ridge creates new seafloor. 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. In 1959 he informally presented this hypothesis in a manuscript that was widely circulated.

Seafloor spreading theory of lithospheric evolution that holds that the ocean floors are spreading outward from vast underwater ridges. The motivating force for seafloor spreading ridges is tectonic plate slab pull at subduction zones rather than magma pressure although there is typically significant magma activity at spreading ridges. In 1965 a canadian geophysicist j. In 1962 these ideas.

Tuzo wilson combined the continental drift and seafloor spreading hypotheses to propose the theory of plate tectonics. When oceanic plates diverge tensional stress causes fractures to occur in the lithosphere. First proposed in the early 1960s by the american geologist harry h. Seafloor spreading as upwelling of magma continues the plates continue to diverge a process known as seafloor spreading.

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. Hess like wegener ran into resistance because little ocean floor data existed for testing his ideas. This evidence was from the investigations of the molten material seafloor drilling radiometric age dating and fossil ages and the magnetic stripes. Tuzo said that earth s crust or lithosphere was divided into large rigid pieces called plates.

Harry hess s hypothesis about seafloor spreading had collected several pieces of evidence to support the theory. This evidence however was also used to support the theory of continental drift. These plates float atop an underlying rock layer called the asthenosphere. Seafloor spreading helps explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics.