Mantle convection is the slow churning motion of earth s mantle.
Sea floor spreading science definition.
Seafloor spreading definition a process in which new ocean floor is created as molten material from the earth s mantle rises in margins between plates or ridges and spreads out.
Seafloor spreading and other tectonic activity processes are the result of mantle convection.
This idea played a pivotal role in the development of the theory of plate tectonics which revolutionized geologic thought during the last quarter of the 20th century.
Spreading rate is the rate at which an ocean basin widens due to seafloor spreading.
Convection currents also recycle lithospheric materials back to the mantle.
The rate at which new oceanic lithosphere is added to each tectonic plate on either side of a mid ocean ridge is the spreading half rate and is equal to half of the spreading rate.
Seafloor spreading theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads out laterally away from them.
Convection currents carry heat from the lower mantle and core to the lithosphere.