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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.

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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.


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.


In which layer of the Earth is the ocean floor?

The crust contains the ocean floor and also the continents on Earth.


What is the general depth of an ocean trench compared to the ocean floor?

True


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.


Where would I find the oldest rock on the ocean floor?

The oldest rock on the ocean floor can be found in the central parts of the ocean basins, particularly in regions known as abyssal plains. These rocks are generally around 200 million years old or older.


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


How old are the oldest of the ocean floor?

Less than 200 Million years old.


Why the crust is thinner than the ocean floor?

The Earth's crust is thinner than the ocean floor because the oceanic crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges where heat from the mantle creates new crust through volcanic activity. This process creates younger, hotter, and thinner crust in the ocean compared to the older and thicker continental crust.


How would the age of the oldest rocks on the continents compare with the age of the oldest rocks on the seafloor if the rock on the continents is continually formed but not removed?

The oldest rocks on the continents would be much older than the rocks on the sea floor because the rocks on the continents are not being removed unlike the rocks on the sea floor that are made by the mid-ocean ridge are being removed by deep ocean trenches. this prossess that is occuring on the sea floor is called sea floor spreading. evidence of this is the Pacific ocean shrinking and the Atlantic ocean growing.