magnetic stripes along the seafloor, with stripes getting older as you move away from the mid-Atlantic ridge, thus proving that the plates are moving apart. REVISION GUIDE
The mid-Atlantic ridge:
The mid-Atlantic ridge runs like a spine along the ocean floor between the North and South Atlantic Ocean. It is a constructive plate boundary where crust is created and not destroyed. In the north Atlantic it separates the North American plate from the Eurasian plate and in the south-Atlantic it separates the African and south-American plates. It breaches the surface of the water at several different points along the length, both in the northern and southern hemisphere, but most notably where you find Iceland, the largest land mass to breach the surface at 102,775km2, with the highest point recorded at the top of the Oraefajokull volcano at 2109.6m. This however is not the highest point of the mid-Atlantic ridge, which is found on the Island of Pico, Portugal, at 2351m high, the lowest being Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, at 22.5m. (ALL WIKI)
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An example of this can be seen on the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the south-west coast of Iceland, which continues to create islands. The most recent of these being the creation of Surtsey, the eruption of which lasted four years, beginning in 1963 and finishing in 1967. The most notable island on this chain is that of Heimaey, which saw its last eruption of the volcano Eldfell in 1973. This island has a population of 4500 people and an area of 13.4km2. Eruptions like this and the creation of islands on the archipelago show that the country is still growing, and show the high tectonic activity of the
One evidence of this theory is molten material. Molten Material is magma erupting from mid-ocean ridges. Alvin the submarine found weird rocks shaped like pillows or toothpaste. This tells us this magma cools quickly underwater. Another type of evidence are magnetic stripes. Magnetic stripes are patterns in the ocean floor to prove Earth’s magnetic field has reversed itself in history. Scientist also looked at the “magnetic memory” of the rocks. Scientist drilled pipes through water to drill holes into the ocean floor. Scientists discovered that the older rocks were further away and younger rocks were closer. Those were the three types of evidence that scientist used to support the theory of Sea Floor Spreading.
The theory of plate tectonics states that the Earth’s lithosphere (top layer of the Earth’s crust) is split up into rigid sections called plates that are moving relative to one another as they move on top of the underlying semi-molten mantle. These plates are either continental, The North American Plate, or oceanic, The Nazca Plate.
The new volcanic material welling up into the void, which forms a ribbon of new materials and breaks down its center gradually, when the plates move apart from the axis of the mid-oceanic ridge system. Therefore, every separating plate accretes one half a ribbon of new lithosphere, and, thus, a new surface is added (Pitman, W.C, 2007). The process is continuous, and separation is always happening at the
The Island of Hawaii sits on (almost in the middle of) the Pacific Plate. The Pacific Plate is a giant jigsaw piece of the Earth’s crust that is slowly moving in a northwesterly direction. It moves about four inches a year. There is a basically stationary hot spot deep within the Earth’s mantle. Heat from this hot spot makes molten lava and rock (magma) that rises through the Pacific Plate and erupts continuously on the ocean floor. After thousands of eruptions and over many many years, an island forms a rocky
For those seeking a secluded mountain home there would be none better than Appalachian Mountain real estate, as the starting point.
To support the theory of continental drift is through topography, surveying the floors of oceans, charts of rock magnetism, and statistics on rock ages (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). At one time scientist believed that the deep ocean floors were flat; accumulating the sediment that progressively wore away from the prehistoric landmasses (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). However, they discovered steep-walled valleys and elevated highlands. This was evidences that just as the continents are transformed and are active, so to is the seafloor (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). The Mid- Atlantic Ridge, positioned in the central part of the Atlantic Ocean, is recorded to be the longest mountain range on this planet. Volcanoes, lava flow, and earthquakes are a source of
On this day in 1863, Union troops capture Lookout Mountain southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee,as they begin to break the Confederate siege of the city. In the “battle above the clouds,” the Yankees scaled the slopes of the mountain on the periphery of the Chattanooga lines.
The youngest oceanic crust is located along the mid-ocean ridges where new crust is formed when the old crust is pushed away from mid – ocean ridges as a result of the seafloor spreading.
Canada one of the newest and finest countries, has been through a lot since the first world war broke out. There were several factors which contributed and led towards Canada’s nationalism and its strong sense of loyalty; Canada as a young independent nation fought and triumphed over adversity. The battle of vimy ridge was one of the most important turning points for Canada due to the fact that it brought both world recognition and a strong sense of nationalism. The massive assault was planned with a french attack from the south and a british diversion at Arras, which took place on April 9th-12th 1917. The Battle of Vimy Ridge began at 5:30 a.m. on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917. The first wave of 15,000-20,000 Canadian soldiers, many of them
On Monday April 9th 1917, at 5:30am, the battle of Vimy Ridge began. The Vimy Ridge is located in Northern France at the Western Front and is seven kilometres long. The battle was fought for territory against the British, Germans, and the Canadians. The Battle was successful for the Canadians and changed their reputation for the better.
The island Surtsey, formed on November 14, 1963, did not stop erupting until June 1967, which means it erupted for three and a half years and is often compared to the Aleutian and Westman islands.
As more and more of the seafloor was mapped during the 1950s, the magnetic variations turned out not to be random or isolated occurrences, but instead revealed recognizable patterns. When these magnetic patterns were mapped over a wide region, the ocean floor showed a zebra-like pattern. Alternating stripes of magnetically different rock were laid out in rows on either side of the mid-ocean ridge: one stripe with normal polarity and the adjoining stripe with reversed polarity. The overall pattern, defined by these alternating bands of normally and reversely polarized rock, became known as magnetic striping.
The Blue Ridge region is located in the Northeastern part of Georgia. It is a contnuation of the large mountain range named the Appalacian Mountains. But, they are unlike the Appalacian mountains because they are more rugged and the valleys are more randomly placed. The Blue Ridge region can reach elvations of 4700 feet above sea level. Because of this, this region is much cooler comparison with the other regions in Georgia.
The Surtsey eruption is among the longest eruptions to have occurred in Iceland in historical times. The first sign of an eruption came early in the morning of November 14, 1963, at a site approximately 18 km southwest of Heimaey, the largest of the Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands). The eruption is believed to have commenced a few days earlier on the seafloor, at a depth of 130 m. Explosive phases characterized the Surtsey eruption in the beginning, and due to the rapid cooling effects of the sea, the hot magma transformed into tephra (volcanic ash). The tephra production was tremendous, and an island had already been formed the day after – on November 15. By the end of January 1964, the new island’s elevation was 174 m, or over 300 m above
When collisions between plates occur, the crust is pushed up sometimes forming ranges of mountains. This is the way that most