Sea Floor Spreading Rate Of Pacific

At the east pacific rise which is pushing a plate into the west coast of south america the rate is 12 6 inches 32 2 cm.

Sea floor spreading rate of pacific.

The mid atlantic ridge is a slow spreading center while the east pacific rise is an example of fast spreading. 1cm yr to 10 cm yr. Ago and increasing rates since then. The rate is about 2 2 inches 3 6 cm per year.

The pacific is also home to one of the world s most active spreading centers the east pacific rise with spreading rates of up to 145 4 mm yr between the pacific and nazca plates. Use the above equation to calculate spreading rate. R d t or r 9 5 10 7 cm 6 5 10 7 years 1 46 cm yr. Seafloor spreading rates are much more rapid in the pacific ocean than in the atlantic and indian oceans.

At spreading rates of about 15 cm 6 inches per year the entire crust beneath the pacific ocean about 15 000 km 9 300 miles wide could be produced in 100 million years. Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor. The mid atlantic ridge for instance separates the north american plate from the eurasian plate and the south american plate from the african plate the east pacific rise is a mid ocean ridge that runs through the eastern pacific ocean and separates the pacific plate from the north american. See also continental drift a veritable legion of evidence supports the seafloor spreading hypothesis.

The sea floor spread. Wherever continents are bordered by deep sea trench systems as in the pacific ocean the ocean floor is plunged downward underthrusting the continents and ultimately reentering and dissolving in earth s mantle from which it had originated. Measure from the center of the spreading center to a known age point on the plate rather than from 65 ma on the eastern plate to 65 ma on the western.