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Are ocean floor rocks older or younger than the continental rocks?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Because seafloor is always being created and hence is usually newer; anything older is no longer "seafloor", it has become land. In contrast, the oldest rocks are well within a continent, are on land far from shore, and have had long enough to move away from the sea while during tectonic drift.
Nearly all of the oceanic crust is recycled by the processes of plate tectonics in a roughly 160 million year cycle. Only oceanic crust is subducted into the mantle as it is denser than continental crust.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 15y agoSea floor rocks are on average, much younger. Nearly all of the oceanic crust is recycled by the processes of plate tectonics in a roughly 160 million year cycle. Comparatively, the oldest crustal rocks discovered so far are over 4 billion years old.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoThe difference is 3.8 billion years.
The ocean floor rocks are so much younger because they are continually being created and destroyed by the process of Plate Tectonics.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoyounger
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Why are the oldest parts of the ocean floor no older than about 200 million years.?
Because the oldest parts reach the continental crust and then the ocean floor sinks beneath the continental crust, into the mantle.
Why are the Rock's close to a mid-ocean ridge younger than the ones that are farther away?
Mid-ocean ridges are basically underground volcanoes that lava from the Earth's Mantle can breach. The ocean, however, freezes the lava and that in turn forms rock. If this happens repeatedly, then the older rock gets pushed away from the source, and the younger, just formed rock is, therefore, closer to the ridge. So the younger rock being formed by the ridge is pushing away the older, previously made, igneous rock.
Why was the discovery of no rocks older than 2billion years old on the ocean floor so important?
It is an indication that the ocean floor is moving, being created by rifting and destroyed by subduction, thus providing evidence of plate tectonics and continental drift.
The type of collision that occurs when two lithospheric plates converge is determined primarily by plate?
the convergent boundry type is determined by the types of plates. There are Continent - continent plates converging this forms mountains. Then there a Oceanic crust and continental crust colisions which form subduction zones and volcanic activity on the continents side. Lastly there are Ocean - Ocean plate collisions where the hotter and younger ocean floor obducts onto the older floor.
What is older the continents or the ocean floor?
On average, continents are older than ocean basins. Due to the action of plate tectonics, ocean crust is being formed and destroyed continuously. The oldest oceanic crust is about 200 million years old, whereas continents, which are less dense than oceanic crust and tend not to be subducted into the mantle, can be more than 3,000 million years old in places.
Why are the oldest parts of the ocean floor no older than about 200 million years.?
Because the oldest parts reach the continental crust and then the ocean floor sinks beneath the continental crust, into the mantle.
How do scientists explain older and younger rock placement on the ocean floor?
They measure how far away the rock is from the mid-ocean ridge. The farther, the older.
Are rocks on the seafloor older then the continental rocks?
No. Continental rocks are much older. New sea floor is constantly being create and destroyed. At mid-ocean ridges, the sea floor spreads and magma from deeper in the Earth pushes up to create new ocean crust. At places where ocean plates contact continental plates, the ocean plate is often pushed underneath the continental plate, in a process called subduction. As the ocean plate is pushed back down into the Earth, the heat and the pressure melt it down, destroying it. Since continental plates are very rarely subducted, and, with the exception of places like Iceland where a mid-ocean ridge actually rises above sea level, generally rocks on the continent will be older.
Why is it that ancient rocks are found on the continents and not on the ocean floor?
The entire ocean floor is recycled in roughly 160 million year cycles through the process of plate tectonics. Because continental plates do not subduct, the rock is much, much older, particularly in the continental interior.
Why are the Rock's close to a mid-ocean ridge younger than the ones that are farther away?
Mid-ocean ridges are basically underground volcanoes that lava from the Earth's Mantle can breach. The ocean, however, freezes the lava and that in turn forms rock. If this happens repeatedly, then the older rock gets pushed away from the source, and the younger, just formed rock is, therefore, closer to the ridge. So the younger rock being formed by the ridge is pushing away the older, previously made, igneous rock.
Why was the discovery of no rocks older than 2billion years old on the ocean floor so important?
It is an indication that the ocean floor is moving, being created by rifting and destroyed by subduction, thus providing evidence of plate tectonics and continental drift.
The type of collision that occurs when two lithospheric plates converge is determined primarily by plate?
the convergent boundry type is determined by the types of plates. There are Continent - continent plates converging this forms mountains. Then there a Oceanic crust and continental crust colisions which form subduction zones and volcanic activity on the continents side. Lastly there are Ocean - Ocean plate collisions where the hotter and younger ocean floor obducts onto the older floor.
What is older the continents or the ocean floor?
On average, continents are older than ocean basins. Due to the action of plate tectonics, ocean crust is being formed and destroyed continuously. The oldest oceanic crust is about 200 million years old, whereas continents, which are less dense than oceanic crust and tend not to be subducted into the mantle, can be more than 3,000 million years old in places.
Does oceanic lithosphere get older or younger as you move closer to mid-ocean range?
Younger
What made the scientists believe that the sea floor is spreading?
1. What made scientist believe that the seafloor was spreading? Samples of the deep ocean floor show that basaltic oceanic crust and overlying sediment become progressively younger as the mid-ocean ridge is approached, and the sediment cover is thinner near the ridge. Also, the rock making up the ocean floor is considerably younger than the continents, with no samples found over 200 million years old, as contrasted with maximum ages of over 3 billion years for the continental rocks. This confirms that older ocean crust has been reabsorbed in ocean trench systems. by; Vontamayosa find me on Facebook
How does the ocean floor near the center slit differ from the ocean floor near the side slit?
The ocean floor near the side slit is colder, denser, and older than the ocean floor near the center slit
Do Ocean sediments become younger or older away from midocean ridges?
Older, as it moves away from the mid-ocean ridge the sediment gets thicker and older
