Bilingual glossary of geology
Seafloor Spreading Étalement du plancher océanique
The mechanism by which new seafloor is created along the rift at the crest of a mid-ocean ridge as adjacent plates move apart. The crust separates along the rift, and new seafloor forms as hot new crust upwells into these cracks. The new seafloor spreads laterally away from the rift and is replaced by even newer crust in a continuing process of plate creation (Grotzinger et al., 2007).
Themes:
Plate tectonics theory and rock cycle
Related words:
Oceanic Crust
Rift
Divergent Plate Boundary
Mid-Ocean Ridge
Image:
Themes:
Plate tectonics theory and rock cycle
Related words:
Oceanic Crust
Rift
Divergent Plate Boundary
Mid-Ocean Ridge
Image: