Order Number |
636738393092 |
Type of Project |
ESSAY |
Writer Level |
PHD VERIFIED |
Format |
APA |
Academic Sources |
10 |
Page Count |
3-12 PAGES |
Calculate the Seafloor Spreading Rate based on the Seafloor’s Age.
TECTONIC PLATES ON EARTH diverge along mid-ocean ridges, converge along subduction zones, and slide past one another on transform faults. The majority of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are caused by relative plate movement, which also explains the current distribution of continents. Seafloor spreading is a crucial feature of plate tectonics, in which two plates move apart relative to one another, creating a new oceanic crust in the process.
Figure 1 depicts the age of the seabed as indicated by magnetism measurements and ages assigned by comparing magnetic patterns to the geomagnetic timeframe. Collecting and dating samples of rocks and silt from the seafloor can also be used to determine ages. The youngest seabed is orange, with yellow and green intermediate ages and blue and purple for the oldest. Because older seafloor has been subducted into the mantle at some point in the past, no seafloor is older than 200 million years
Dark lines within the most recently developed seafloor reflect mid-ocean ridges (shown in orange). Take note of how most mid-ocean ridges, such as those in the Atlantic Ocean, have symmetrical color patterns showing the age of the seafloor. In the Pacific Ocean, where subduction has swallowed the eastern section of so many plates, the age patterns are locally shortened. Examine each ocean’s patterns.
Communication and analysis
If we know the width of oceanic crust that has been created in a given period of time, we can calculate the pace of seafloor spreading. The pace of spreading is calculated by dividing the width by time:
Spreading Rate = Oceanic Crust Width / Time It Took For That Crust To Form
For example, if an oceanic crust belt is 80 kilometers wide and formed over 10 million years, the equation is:
Spreading Rate = 80km wide/10m.y., 80 km/m.y., 80 km/m.y., 80 km/m.y., 80 km/m.y., 80 km/m
We usually speak to rates in centimeters per year when discussing seafloor spreading, therefore we must convert our units from kilometers (km) to centimeters (cm) and from million years (m.y) to years (y). To convert km to cm, multiply km by 100,000 (1 x 105) to get centimeters. 1 km = 1,000 m/1km 100cm/m = 100,000cm We multiply our value for m.y. by a million to convert millions of years to years (1,000,000 or 1 x 106). As a result, the spreading rate equation is:
[width (km) 100,000 cm/km]/[Duration (m.y.) 1,000,000 (yr/m.y.)] Spreading Rate (cm/yr) = [width (km) 100,000 cm/km]/[Duration (m.y.) 1,000,000 (yr/m.y.)]
When the zeros are removed (100,000 over 1,000,000), there is one zero remaining in the denominator, so we simply divide by 10 to convert km/m.y. to cm/yr. As a result, the overall procedure is as follows:
1 – calculate the length in kilometers; 2 – calculate the width in meters; 3 – calculate the length in
2 – keep track of how long it took for that oceanic crust to form (duration);
3 – divide the length by the width
4 – multiply by 10 to get cm/year
In our case, the rate is 8 cm each year, which is a usual pace.
(80 km/m.y.)/10 = 8.0 cm/yr. Spreading Rate = 80 km wide/10m.y. duration = (80 km/m.y.)/10 = 8.0 cm/yr.
Manipulation and representation
There are thick lines across mid-ocean ridges in the Atlantic Ocean (A-D) and Pacific Ocean (Figure 1) on the map (E and F).
Table 1 shows the widths indicated by each line, as well as the time it took the marine crust within that breadth to form. Calculate the spreading rate in centimeters per year for each line, display your work, and record your results in the table.
Table 1 shows the speeds at which the sea floor spreads.