How was the mid-ocean ridge found?

Answer 1

In 1783, a segment of the ridge which emerges above sea-level in Iceland erupted more than 12 cubic kilometers of lava- enough to pave the entire U.S. interstate freeway system to a depth of 10 meters.

K. Macdonald, was Co-Chief Scientist of the expedition that first discovered black smoker vents and their deposits in 1979 using the deep-diving submersible, Alvin, on the East Pacific Rise].

Answer 2

A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is general term for an underwater mountain system that consists of various mountain ranges (chains), typically having a valley known as a rift running along its spine, formed by plate tectonics. This type of oceanic ridge is characteristic of what is known as an oceanic spreading center, which is responsible for seafloor spreading. The uplifted seafloor results from convection currents which rise in the mantle as magma at a linear weakness in the oceanic crust, and emerge as lava, creating new crust upon cooling. A mid-ocean ridge demarcates the boundary between two tectonic plates, and consequently is termed a divergent plate boundary. The mid-ocean ridges of the world are connected and form a single global mid-oceanic ridge system that is part of every ocean, making the mid-oceanic ridge system the longest mountain range in the world. The continuous mountain range is 65,000 km (40,400 mi) long (several times longer than the Andes, the longest continental mountain range), and the total length of the oceanic ridge system is 80,000 km (49,700 mi) long.

Answer 3

During the cold war nuclear submarines were able to dive quite deep in the oceans. It was known that there are undersea mountains and valleys, deep gorges and the same sort of landscape as that found on the surface.

The Navies of the US, UK and Russia all conducted deep ocean surveys in order to map it in the hope of making submarine navigation safer.

Whilst mapping it was noticed that the ocean floor was magnetically banded and that identical bands appeared to spread out from a single line in the ocean floor. Closer study found the first spreading ridge and others quickly followed.

The sad thing is that as it was during the cold war it was classified top secret and took years before geologists could be allowed to be informed and discuss it. As a consequence almost everything taught about earth sciences of seismology and the Earths crust before 1965 was almost completely wrong!!!

Answer 4

I believe it was through magnetic geophysical surveys. When the new rock is formed at the mid-ocean ridges, the atoms align themselves in relation to the magnetic poles. When the poles magnetic field flips, as it has done many times in geological time, the atoms align themselves in the different directions.

Magnetic geophysical surveys mapped these changes and saw that the patterns were centred along a ridge, which is the mid-ocean ridge.

A great explanation of it is available at:

http://www.sea.edu/academics/k12.asp?plan=midoceanmagnetism

Answer 5

It was found when scientists used soundwaves to map the ocean floor