In the 1960’s Harry Hess proposed the theory of sea floor spreading. He described this movement as a conveyor belt motion. This explained why the youngest rock were only found in the mid-ocean ridge and the they got older as they moved away from the ridge. He stated that if the sea floor was spreading, the continents would be able to move away from one another.
Hess explains that the sea floor spreading was due to the mantle convection. The hot magma rises at the ridge as it is less dense. When it reaches the surface it cools down and becomes the sea floor, and as more magma rises, the ocean floor is pushed further apart.
No comments:
Post a Comment