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Mid-ocean ridge cross-section (cut-away view) A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics.It typically has a depth of about 2,600 meters (8,500 ft) and rises about 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) above the deepest portion of an ocean basin.
The observed magnetic profile for the seafloor around a mid-oceanic ridge agrees closely with the profile predicted by the Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis. The Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis , also known as the Morley–Vine–Matthews hypothesis , was the first key scientific test of the seafloor spreading theory of continental drift ...
Plates that are not subducting are driven by gravity sliding off the elevated mid-ocean ridges a process called ridge push. [4] At a spreading center, basaltic magma rises up the fractures and cools on the ocean floor to form new seabed. Hydrothermal vents are common at spreading centers. Older rocks will be found farther away from the ...
The simple result is that the ridge height or seabed depth is proportional to the square root of its age. [4] In all models, oceanic lithosphere is continuously formed at a constant rate at the mid-ocean ridges. The source of the lithosphere has a half-plane shape (x = 0, z < 0) and a constant temperature T 1.
Undersea mountain ranges are mountain ranges that are mostly or entirely underwater, and specifically under the surface of an ocean. If originated from current tectonic forces, they are often referred to as a mid-ocean ridge. In contrast, if formed by past above-water volcanism, they are known as a seamount chain.
The East Pacific Rise near Easter Island is the fastest spreading mid-ocean ridge, with a spreading rate of over 15 cm/yr. [2] The Pacific plate moves generally towards the northwest at between 7 and 11 cm/yr while the Juan De Fuca plate has an east-northeasterly movement of some 4 cm/yr. [3]
At nearly 60,000 km long, the mid-ocean ridge is an extensive chain of underwater volcanic mountains that spans the globe. [30] Centralized in the oceans, this unique geological formation houses a collection of ridges , rifts, fault zones , and other geological features.
Magma rises through oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridges. Sheeted dyke complexes are most commonly found at divergent plate boundaries marked by the presence of mid-ocean ridges. These subaqueous mountain ranges are made up of newly created oceanic crust due to tectonic plates moving away from each other.