What is mid-ocean ridge?
A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It typically has a depth of about 2,600 meters (8,500 ft) and rises about 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. This feature is where seafloor spreading takes place along a divergent plate boundary.
Where is the mid-ocean ridge?
Atlantic Ocean
Mid-Atlantic Ridge, submarine ridge lying along the north-south axis of the Atlantic Ocean; it occupies the central part of the basin between a series of flat abyssal plains that continue to the margins of the continental coasts.
Why is the mid-ocean ridge important?
Mid-ocean ridges are geologically important because they occur along the kind of plate boundary where new ocean floor is created as the plates spread apart. Thus the mid-ocean ridge is also known as a “spreading center” or a “divergent plate boundary.” The plates spread apart at rates of 1 cm to 20 cm per year.
What is a Mid Oceanic ridge example?
Mid-ocean ridges form where two tectonic plates are pulling apart, also called seafloor spreading. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is spreading one to two inches a year, along with the East Pacific Rise, which is spreading two to six inches a year, are two examples of very long mid-ocean ridges.
How did the mid-ocean ridge form?
The mid-ocean ridge is a continuous range of undersea volcanic mountains that encircles the globe almost entirely underwater. It formed and evolves as a result of spreading in Earth’s lithosphere—the crust and upper mantle—at the divergent boundaries between tectonic plates. …
How did the mid Atlantic ridge form?
The Mid Atlantic Ridge, like other ocean ridge systems, has developed as a consequence of the divergent motion between the Eurasian and North American, and African and South American Plates. In this way, as the plates move further apart new ocean lithosphere is formed at the ridge and the ocean basin gets wider.
How is a mid-ocean ridge formed?
It formed and evolves as a result of spreading in Earth’s lithosphere—the crust and upper mantle—at the divergent boundaries between tectonic plates. The vast majority of volcanic activity on the planet occurs along the mid-ocean ridge, and it is the place where the crust of the Earth is born.
What processes occur at mid-ocean ridges?
There are two processes, ridge-push and slab-pull, thought to be responsible for the spreading seen at mid-ocean ridges, and there is some uncertainty as to which is dominant. Ridge-push occurs when the weight of the ridge pushes the rest of the tectonic plate away from the ridge, often towards a subduction zone.
Which is characteristic of mid oceanic ridges?
A mid-ocean ridge (or mid-oceanic ridge) is an underwater mountain range, typically having a valley known as a rift running along its axis, formed by plate tectonics. This type of oceanic ridge is characteristic of what is known as an oceanic spreading center.
What is a mid-ocean ridge and how does it form?
A mid-ocean ridge or mid-oceanic ridge is an underwater mountain range, formed by plate tectonics. This uplifting of the ocean floor occurs when convection currents rise in the mantle beneath the oceanic crust and create magma where two tectonic plates meet at a divergent boundary.
What type of rock is formed at mid ocean ridges?
basalt
The material that erupts at spreading centers along the mid-ocean ridge is primarily basalt, the most common rock on Earth.
What are characteristics of the mid ocean ridge?
20 Geological Characteristics of Mid Ocean Ridges Formed from Fracture Zones. Despite encircling the earth and make a long line of ocean ridge, ocean ridge itself does not come in the form of straight and defined Almost Symmetrical Cross Section. Mid ocean ridges encircle the ocean with its long winding series of undersea mountains. Different History, Different Shape. The Depth of Ocean Ridge.
What is at the center of the mid ocean ridge?
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs down the center of the Atlantic Ocean, slowly spreading at a rate of two to five centimeters (0.8 to 2 inches) per year and forming a rift valley that is about the depth and width of the Grand Canyon.
What is happening along the mid-ocean ridge?
Mid-ocean ridges exhibit active volcanism and seismicity. The oceanic crust is in a constant state of ‘renewal’ at the mid-ocean ridges by the processes of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics. New magma steadily emerges onto the ocean floor and intrudes into the existing ocean crust at and near rifts along the ridge axes.
Where in the world Would you find a mid ocean ridge?
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge extends from south of Iceland to the extreme South Atlantic Ocean near 60° S latitude. It bisects the Atlantic Ocean basin, which led to the earlier designation of mid-ocean ridge for features of this type. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge became known in a rudimentary fashion during the 19th century.