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How old are the oldest rocks on the ocean floor compared to the age of the earth?
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
In 1990, after 20 years of searching, geologists found the oldest oceanic rocks by drilling into the seafloor of the western Pacific. These rocks turned out to be about 200 million years old, only about 4% of the Earth's age.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoThe Age of the Earth is Around 4.6 billion years and the ocean floor is about 200 million years old. Marine geologists have found that all continents were once on supercontinent named "Pangaea"that began breaking up around 200 million years ago.
Ocean basins have changed and new oceans have been born during the proccess of time.
The tectonic plates are always moving under and over each other changing the deep ocean floor, depositing new ocean bed.
A great subject to study in more depth, hope you found this answer good enough to take more time on the subject.
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoLess than 200 Million years old.
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago180 million years old
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Portion of the earth's crust that lies beneath the ocean floor?
The Sea Floor
Where are the oldest rocks located in the ocean crust?
The oldest rocks on the ocean floor would be those at the colliding edge of the plate boundary.Answer 2: The oldest of all oceanic rocks are on the Asian side of the pacific plate.
Where would you expect to find oldest rock on the ocean floor?
Somewhere at the bottom of the Marianas Trench you would find the oldest rock of the oceanic crust. Somewhere else, however, there are older rocks on the ocean floor--those deposited by icebergs that have broken off of glaciers. Those erratic rocks could be much older than the oldest oceanic crust.
How do strip of magnetized rock on the ocean floor provide evidence of sea-floor spreading?
Strips of ocean-floor basalt record the polarity of earth's magnetic field at the time the rock formed. These strips form a pattern that is the same on both sides of the mid-ocean ridge. the pattern shows that ocean floor forms along mid-ocean ridges and then moves away from the ridge.
What is the continuous mountain range in the earth oceans basic called?
The continuous mountain ranges in the earth's ocean basins are called mid-ocean ridges. These ridges were discovered with sonar, which was used to map the ocean floor.
Why is the earth 4.6 billion years old but the oldest sea floor is only 180 millions years old?
Just as new sea floor forms at mid-ocean ridges, new sea floor is forced back into the mantle at abduction zones. The oldest seafloor is at east and west the edges of the Atlantic Ocean, dating to the breakup of Pangaea.
In which layer of the Earth is the ocean floor?
The crust contains the ocean floor and also the continents on Earth.
Is the mid ocean ridge the location of the oldest ocean floor?
Actually the mid ocean ridge would be the location of some of the NEWEST ocean floor.
What is the general depth of an ocean trench compared to the ocean floor?
True
On the ocean floor where is the oldest rock?
The oldest rock in oceanic crust is that which is found the greatest distance from a mid-ocean-ridge.
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 oldest part of the ocean floor no older then about 200 million years old?
The ocean is 4 billion yars old, however due to subduction, the oldest sediment found in the ocean's floor is 180 million years old.
Old ocean floor is destroyed and absorbed by the Earth and remelted beneath what?
When the old ocean floor is destroyed, it goes to Earth's mantle.
which layer of the earth forms ocean floor?
Ocean Crust.
What other ocean floor feature is formed by movement of Earth's plates?
what other ocean floor feature is fromed by movement of earth's plates
Where is the thinnest crust of the earth?
At the ocean floor.
How old are the oldest of the ocean floor?
Less than 200 Million years old.
