Fill the gap between separating plates.
friction - convection currents in the mantle drag the plates away from the hot rising zone below the ridgegravity - gravity pulls down on the cold dense plate being subducted under the continent, dragging the plate away from the ridge
Midocean ridges are areas where continents broke apart. Midocean ridges are closest to the landmasses in younger oceans. One example where a midocean ridge intersected a landmass is the Arabian sea, which was formed by the pulling apart of the Arabian Peninsula and Africa.
Yes, plate movement can occur through a process called ridge push. As new oceanic crust forms at mid-ocean ridges, it pushes the neighboring tectonic plate away from the ridge due to the force of gravity, causing the plate to move away from the ridge. This movement is one of the driving forces behind the motion of tectonic plates.
Very slowly on the order of tens of millimetres per year. For example the Mid Atlantic Ridge is spreading at around 25 mm/yr where as spreading centres in the Pacific tend to be faster with rates up to around 100 mm/yr.
Sea-floor spreading is valuable in plate tectonics because it explains how new oceanic crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges. As this new crust is created, older crust is pushed away from the ridge, demonstrating the movement of tectonic plates. This process helps support the theory of continental drift and provides evidence for the movement of Earth's lithosphere.
The mid ocean ridge separates many plates, not just two. In the Atlantic Ocean it separates the Eurasian and African plates from the North American Plate and the African Plate from the South American Plate. In the Indian Ocean it separates the African Plate from the Antarctic, Australian, Indian Plates and the Australian Plate from the Antarctic Plate. In the Red Sea it separates the African Plate from the Arabian Plate. In the Pacific Ocean it separates the Pacific Plate from the Antarctic, Nazca, Cocos, and Juan de Fuca Plates and the Nazca Plate from the Cocos and Antarctic Plates.
Fill the gap between separating plates.
The mid-ocean ridge is where tectonic plates diverge, allowing magma from the mantle to rise up and create new crust. As the magma cools and solidifies, it forms new oceanic lithosphere, which pushes the existing plates apart and drives the movement of the lithospheric plates. This process is known as seafloor spreading and is a key mechanism of plate tectonics.
friction - convection currents in the mantle drag the plates away from the hot rising zone below the ridgegravity - gravity pulls down on the cold dense plate being subducted under the continent, dragging the plate away from the ridge
Midocean ridges are areas where continents broke apart. Midocean ridges are closest to the landmasses in younger oceans. One example where a midocean ridge intersected a landmass is the Arabian sea, which was formed by the pulling apart of the Arabian Peninsula and Africa.
The midocean ridges are the spreading centers where the plates are moving apart. The seamounts are extinct volcanos produced as the plate passed over a mantle hotspot.
because other factors as shown in that could play a role in plate movement are ridge-push and slab-pull.
Yes, plate movement can occur through a process called ridge push. As new oceanic crust forms at mid-ocean ridges, it pushes the neighboring tectonic plate away from the ridge due to the force of gravity, causing the plate to move away from the ridge. This movement is one of the driving forces behind the motion of tectonic plates.
Very slowly on the order of tens of millimetres per year. For example the Mid Atlantic Ridge is spreading at around 25 mm/yr where as spreading centres in the Pacific tend to be faster with rates up to around 100 mm/yr.
In the slab pull ridge push mechanism, as a tectonic plate subducts beneath another, the weight of the subducting plate (slab pull) and the force exerted by the rising ridge system (ridge push) both contribute to the movement of the plates. For example, the movement of the Pacific Plate due to subduction beneath the North American Plate in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States is driven by the combined effects of slab pull and ridge push.
Sea-floor spreading is valuable in plate tectonics because it explains how new oceanic crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges. As this new crust is created, older crust is pushed away from the ridge, demonstrating the movement of tectonic plates. This process helps support the theory of continental drift and provides evidence for the movement of Earth's lithosphere.
It doesn't have a role. It is a natural phenomena