What theory supports the theory of ocean floor spreading?
The Continental Drift Theory
The Continental Drift Theory of Alfred Wegener in 1912 is supported by this hypothesis on the shift position of the earth’s surface.
What is the hypothesis of seafloor spreading?
sea-floor spreading — a hypothesis, proposed in the early 1960s, that new ocean floor is created where two plates move away from one another at mid-ocean ridges. subduction zone — a long, narrow zone where one lithospheric plate descends beneath another.
How was seafloor spreading theory explained?
Seafloor spreading is the mechanism by which new seafloor lithosphere is constantly being created at mid-ocean ridges. This theory, introduced by Harry Hess, was proven as patterns of magnetic field polarity preserved in seafloor basalt and by age dating of the rocks.
Who proposed the theory of seafloor spreading?
Harry Hess
Part of the Earth Inside and Out Curriculum Collection.
When was the theory of seafloor spreading proposed?
1960
The seafloor spreading hypothesis was proposed by the American geophysicist Harry H. Hess in 1960.
How does the hypothesis of seafloor spreading help explain why continents are able to move?
The Mechanism for Continental Drift Seafloor spreading is the mechanism that Wegener was looking for! Convection currents within the mantle drive the continents. The continents are pushed by oceanic crust, like they are on a conveyor belt. Over millions of years the continents move around the planet’s surface.
How did seafloor spreading and mantle convection explains Wegener’s hypothesis?
Similar to Wegener’s theory that continents do in fact move, Hess’ seafloor spreading contradicted Wegener’s continental drift in that it involved the ocean sea floor moving as it expanded—instead of continents ploughing through the sea.
What is the importance of seafloor spreading theory?
Seafloor spreading is the mechanism by which new oceanic lithosphere is created at and moves away from divergent plate boundaries. The seafloor spreading hypothesis led to one of the most important paradigm shifts in the history of the Earth sciences, the plate tectonics scientific revolution.
What observation led Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift hypothesis?
Wegener found similar evidence when he discovered tropical plant fossils in the frozen region of the Arctic Circle. As Wegener collected more data, he realized the explanation that best fit all the climate, rock, and fossil observations involved moving continents.
How is seafloor spreading theory disproves and supports the continental drift theory?
How did the continental drift theory and the seafloor spreading theory contributed to the plate tectonics theory?
By combining the sea floor spreading theory with continental drift and information on global seismicity, the new theory of Plate Tectonics became a coherent theory to explain crustal movements. Plates are composed of lithosphere, about 100 km thick, that “float” on the ductile asthenosphere.
How does seafloor spreading support the hypothesis of continental drift?
Seafloor spreading disproves an early part of the theory of continental drift. Supporters of continental drift originally theorized that the continents moved (drifted) through unmoving oceans. Seafloor spreading proves that the ocean itself is a site of tectonic activity.
How does the theory of plate tectonics differ from Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis?
The main difference between plate tectonics and continental drift is that plate tectonics describes the features and movement of Earth’s surface in the present and in the past whereas continental drift describes the drifting of Earth’s continents on the ocean bed.
What is the rate of seafloor spreading?
These age data also allow the rate of seafloor spreading to be determined, and they show that rates vary from about 0.1 cm (0.04 inch) per year to 17 cm (6.7 inches) per year. Seafloor-spreading rates are much more rapid in the Pacific Ocean than in the Atlantic and Indian oceans.
What is continental drift theory and its evidences?
One type of evidence that strongly supported the Theory of Continental Drift is the fossil record. Fossils of similar types of plants and animals in rocks of a similar age have been found on the shores of different continents, suggesting that the continents were once joined.
What are the main differences between continental drift hypothesis and seafloor spreading hypothesis?
What was the name of Alfred Wegener’s hypothesis?
In the early 20th century, Wegener published a paper explaining his theory that the continental landmasses were “drifting” across the Earth, sometimes plowing through oceans and into each other. He called this movement continental drift.
What is the theory of continental drift and what evidence supports it?
Wegener used fossil evidence to support his continental drift hypothesis. The fossils of these organisms are found on lands that are now far apart. Grooves and rock deposits left by ancient glaciers are found today on different continents very close to the equator.