Seafloor Spreading Theory Upsc Notes

With the emergence of the concept of seafloor spreading and wealth of new evidence at the beginning of the 1950s and 1960s the interest in the problem of distributions of oceans and continents was revived.

Seafloor spreading theory upsc notes.

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. Further he claimed that continents would be pushed aside by the same forces that cause the ocean to grow. He suggested that new sea floor forms at the oceanic ridges and spread outwards from the line of origin. Learn vocabulary terms and more with flashcards games and other study tools.

Sea floor spreading notes jenny 1. It is an improvement over the wegener s continental drift theory and has been considered as the most. Seafloor spreading theory mapping of the ocean floor. Start studying sea floor spreading notes.

The concept of seafloor spreading was put forward by h harry hess an american geologist. Body after mentioning that theory of plate tectonics is an improvement over theory of continental drift divide the body into parts and present evidences facts in favour of your stand. Mapping the mid ocean ridge the mid ocean ridge is thelongest chain of mountains in theworld in the 1950s scientist mappedthe mid ocean ridge using sonar sonar is an instrument that usessound waves to measuredistance. Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor.

Theory given by harry hess according to him sea floor spreading occurs in divergent plate boundaries i e. 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. E g tidal forces and centrifugal forces are too small to bring such changes magnetite striping and seafloor spreading pacific ring of fire etc. It opened up a whole new paradigm for the study of geomorphology.

Tectonic plates move away from each other due to thermal convective currents this leads to fractures and cracks in the earth s oceanic crust which is filled up with magma bubbling up from earth s mantle aesthenosphere. After the second world war the understanding of ocean floor significantly changed. Also the following six developments were instrumental in the formulation of the theory of plate tectonics. This theory is based on the 2 principle hypothesis arthur holmes convection current hypothesis and the concept of seafloor spreading advocated by hess.

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.