Tectonic Features Of The Ocean Floor

The mid atlantic ridge mar is a mid ocean ridge a divergent or constructive plate boundary located along the floor of the atlantic ocean and part of the longest mountain range in the world in the north atlantic it separates the north american from the eurasian plate and the african plate north and south of the azores triple junction respectively.

Tectonic features of the ocean floor. As upwelling of magma continues the plates continue to diverge a process known as seafloor spreading. Some plates grind past each other. Plate tectonics and the ocean floor. All of the tectonic plates are labeled.

Sea floor spreading plate tectonics origin of sea floor contents 1. These age data also allow the rate of seafloor spreading to be. At the ocean ridges such as the mid atlantic ridge the plates are moving apart which is. Geologic activity around the plate boundaries on the ocean floor provide evidence of plate tectonics.

The contours are available as a layer that can be turned on with. Deep ocean water is divided into layers or zones each with typical features of salinity pressure temperature and marine life according to their depth. Others are splitting apart. Major morphological features 4 1 continental margins 4 2 mid ocean ridges 4 3 deep ocean floors glossary bibliography biographical sketch summary.

The mid atlantic ocean ridge is young ocean floor. Principal provinces of sea floor 3. Together they contain the overwhelming majority of all water on the planet and have an average depth of almost 4 km about 2 5 miles. Plate tectonics plate tectonics seafloor spreading.

In the south atlantic it separates the. A number of major features of the basins depart. Earth tectonic plates. Bathymetry the shape of the ocean floor is largely a result of a process called plate tectonics the outer rocky layer of the earth includes about a dozen large sections called tectonic plates that are arranged like a spherical jig saw puzzle floating on top of the earth s hot flowing mantle.

These are the most likely to cause earthquakes. Deep ocean trenches volcanoes island arcs submarine mountain ranges and fault lines are examples of features that can form along plate tectonic boundaries. This continual motion is evidenced by the occurrence of earthquakes and volcanoes. Continental drift sea floor spreading and plate tectonics 4.

Ocean basin any of several vast submarine regions that collectively cover nearly three quarters of earth s surface. Tectonic plates move on average about 1 in 2 5 cm per year this is about as fast as a fingernail grows. Samples collected from the ocean floor show that the age of oceanic crust increases with distance from the spreading centre important evidence in favour of this process. The tectonic plates are constantly in motion and new surfaces are always being created.