The formation of new oceanic crust along divergent mid ocean ridges as plates pull apart, balancing the crust lost to subduction elsewhere in a planet-wide conveyor belt. Harry Hess proposed the mechanism in 1962, and its confirmation in the mid to late 1960s is what turned continental drift from a rejected idea into accepted plate tectonics. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
TimescaleOngoing, centimeters per year 2 Driving ForceUpwelling magma at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust forms and spreads apart as plates diverge. 1 Resulting FeatureProduces new oceanic crust in symmetric magnetic stripes on either side of a mid-ocean ridge, the key evidence for plate tectonics. 1 SignificanceSeafloor spreading, confirmed by seafloor mapping and paleomagnetic stripe evidence, resolved the missing mechanism that had stalled acceptance of continental drift for decades. 1 Driving Force
Driving Force (category) Driving Force (category) Timescale
Timescale (category) Connections
Associated With
Decompression melting of upwelling asthenosphere is the source of mid-ocean ridge basalt.
Source Asthenosphere (Wikipedia)
Marine magnetic anomalies gave clear geophysical evidence for seafloor spreading.
Source Paleomagnetism (Wikipedia)
Major rifts run along the central axis of most mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust forms.
Source Rift (Wikipedia)
The zigzag pattern of oceanic transforms results from oblique seafloor spreading along divergent boundaries.
Source Transform Fault (Wikipedia)
Causes
Source Abyssal plain (Wikipedia)
In Discipline
Source Plate Tectonics (Wikipedia)
Precursor To
Confirmation of seafloor spreading in the 1960s is what turned continental drift into accepted plate tectonics.
Source Plate Tectonics (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Seafloor Spreading (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
2. Plate Tectonics (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationArticle textQuote, Article text
The lost surface is balanced by the formation of new oceanic crust along divergent margins by seafloor spreading, keeping the total surface area constant in a tectonic "conveyor belt".
Abyssal plain (Wikipedia)
Causes: Abyssal plain, Lead section (caused-by Seafloor Spreading)Quote, Causes: Abyssal plain, Lead section (caused-by Seafloor Spreading)
The creation of the abyssal plain is the result of the spreading of the seafloor (plate tectonics) and the melting of the lower oceanic crust.
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