Due to?
2007-05-29 15:33:31 · 4 answers · asked by Shaun 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Geography
Molten rock, or magma, comes up from the mantle. The water cools it and turns it into new seafloor. The magma comes up because the tectonic plates pull away from each other, exposing a break in the crust that leads to the mantle.
2007-05-29 15:37:13 · answer #1 · answered by Soccer Tease 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is still a matter of some debate whether seafloor spreading is driven primarily by the force of rising magma at these locations, or if it is driven by the force of sinking oceanic crust at subduction zones and these upwellings are merely a side effect. It is likely however that some seafloor spreading is driven by active upwelling and some by passive upwelling.
2007-05-29 22:40:34 · answer #2 · answered by rales_lds 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
New seafloor is created by the magma that rises up through the spreading crack in the ocean floor. When the magma cools there is new sea floor.
2007-05-29 22:36:24 · answer #3 · answered by Lady Geologist 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
New seafloor emerges from the so-called mid-oceanic ridges. It is lava from the mantle, and rises due to pressure differences between the mantle and crust.
2007-05-29 23:57:27 · answer #4 · answered by David A 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋