In a First, Scientists Witness the Seafloor Spread in Real Time, Giving Them a Rare Glimpse at a Mysterious Geologic Process
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Earth’s outermost layer—the crust—is constantly renewing itself. It’s broken into giant chunks called tectonic plates that pull apart, push against or slide past one another, creating grand geologic features.
Reported by 1 outlet — Smithsonian. See all sources ↓
Earth’s outermost layer—the crust—is constantly renewing itself. It’s broken into giant chunks called tectonic plates that pull apart, push against or slide past one another, creating grand geologic features. Underwater mountain ranges, or mid-ocean ridges, for instance, generally take shape where two tectonic plates are moving away from each other. Magma can then bubble up in between, which solidifies and turns into new oceanic crust as part of a process called seafloor spreading.
Read the full report at Smithsonian ↗
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- What's the story?
- Earth’s outermost layer—the crust—is constantly renewing itself. It’s broken into giant chunks called tectonic plates that pull apart, push against or slide past one another, creating grand geologic features.
- How widely is it covered?
- 1 outlet, average source rating 7.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- 12m ago.
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In a First, Scientists Witness the Seafloor Spread in Real Time, Giving Them a Rare Glimpse at a Mysterious Geologic Process
Sources1TypeCoverageSmithsonian