GEOL 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: East Pacific Rise, Convergent Boundary, Mid-Ocean Ridge
Document Summary
Plates are in constant motion relative to each other, most major interaction among them occur along their boundaries. There are three boundaries: divergent plate boundaries (constructive margins) where two plates move apart, resulting in upwelling of hot material from the mantle to create new seafloor. Since they are separating, they are creating ocean floor crust. Located along the crests of oceanic ridges (elevated areas of the seafloor characterized by high heat flow and volcanism). Two adjacent plates spread away from each other. As a result, hot rock from the mantle below migrates upward to fill the voids left as the crust is being ripped apart. The molten material gradually cools to produce new slivers on the seafloor. Rift valley ridge segments is a deep canyon like structure. Seafloor spreading the mechanism that operates along the oceanic ridge system to create new seafloor.
