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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.
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.
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.
Why does oceanic crust get older as you get closer to continents?
The basalts of the ocean floors are created at the mid-ocean ridges and moves away from these ridges as new crust is created. thus as sea floor spreading occurs the older rock gets pushed away from the ridge towards the continents and the younger rock comes up beside the ridge. good example is the Atlantic ocean
Why are the rocks in they centre of Atlantic ocean floor younger than the rocks found on the eastern or western areas of the Atlantic ocean?
The rocks in the center of the Atlantic Ocean floor are younger because they are formed at mid-ocean ridges through volcanic activity, where tectonic plates are diverging. As magma rises and solidifies at these ridges, it creates new oceanic crust. In contrast, rocks found on the eastern and western margins of the Atlantic Ocean have been subjected to processes such as subduction and erosion, making them older. This process of seafloor spreading continually pushes older rocks away from the ridge, resulting in a younger ocean floor at the center.
Describe why the age of ocean floor is younger near mid-ocean ridges and older near continental boundaries?
The age of the ocean floor is younger near mid-ocean ridges because this is where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity as tectonic plates pull apart. As magma rises and solidifies at these ridges, it creates new seafloor. In contrast, the ocean floor becomes older as it moves away from the ridges towards continental boundaries, where it can eventually be subducted into the mantle or collide with continental plates, recycling older crust. This process of seafloor spreading and subduction explains the age gradient observed in oceanic crust.
Does oceanic lithosphere get older or younger as you move closer to mid-ocean range?
Younger
What discovery did scientist make when comparing the age of the sea floor to that of the continents?
The scientists realized that the continents were much older, leading them onto the theory of Sea Floor Spreading!
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.
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
Why are continents older than ocean basins?
well continets were created by god
How did science discover the age of the rocks on the ocean floor which are older younger?
Science determined the age of ocean floor rocks primarily through the principles of radiometric dating and seafloor spreading. By analyzing the magnetic properties of rocks, researchers observed that the ocean floor exhibits distinct patterns of magnetism that correspond to periods of magnetic reversal, which allows them to date the rocks based on their distance from mid-ocean ridges. Younger rocks are found closer to these ridges, where new crust is formed, while older rocks are located further away, supporting the theory of plate tectonics and the dynamic nature of the Earth's crust.
