What can you find in mid-ocean ridge?
Mid-ocean ridges occur along divergent plate boundaries, where new ocean floor is created as the Earth’s tectonic plates spread apart. As the plates separate, molten rock rises to the seafloor, producing enormous volcanic eruptions of basalt.
Can mid-ocean ridges support life?
Tectonically and volcanically active, they are the places where new crust forms. The mid-ocean ridge system hosts one of the most complex and hostile environments on our planet. Life here exists without sunlight and is supported by vented hydrothermal fluids driven by heat from magma chambers.
What 2 things occur at mid-ocean ridges?
There are two processes, ridge-push and slab-pull, thought to be responsible for the spreading seen at mid-ocean ridges, and there is some uncertainty as to which is dominant. Ridge-push occurs when the weight of the ridge pushes the rest of the tectonic plate away from the ridge, often towards a subduction zone.
Where can you find mid-ocean ridges?
Mid-Atlantic Ridge, submarine ridge lying along the north-south axis of the Atlantic Ocean; it occupies the central part of the basin between a series of flat abyssal plains that continue to the margins of the continental coasts.
Which of these features is present on either side of a mid-ocean ridge?
The mid-ocean ridges are flanked on either side by abyssal hills and hilly abyssal plains (Figure 6.12).
Why does magma erupt mid-ocean ridges?
Beneath a typical mid-ocean ridge, mantle material partially melts as it rises in response to reduced pressure. When magma pressure builds up enough to force its way out to the seafloor, eruption occurs. “Dikes” are magma-filled cracks and are the conduits that magmas flow through to reach the surface.
Why do volcanoes erupt at mid-ocean ridges?
Mid-ocean ridge volcanoes form where two plates are moving apart. As the plates move apart, cracks form in the crust. Magma from the mantle surges up these cracks, and erupts onto the surface, forming new crust. Mid-ocean ridge volcanoes produce huge volumes of lava.
What are the five example of ocean ridges?
This ridge system includes the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge, Carlsberg Ridge, Pacific-Antarctic Ridge, and the East Pacific Rise with its related features, including the Chile Rise, Galapagos Rift Zone, Gorda Rise, and Juan de Fuca Ridge.
What type of plate boundary is occurring in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge (a divergent or constructive plate boundary) located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world.
How do volcanoes form at mid-ocean ridges?
In the ocean, volcanoes erupt along cracks that are opened in the ocean floor by the spreading of two plates called a mid-ocean ridge . Magma from Earth’s upper mantle rises up to fill these cracks. As the lava cools, it forms new crust on the edges of the cracks.
What is the difference between mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys?
The major difference between different types is what type of plate the divergent boundary is between. If the boundary is found between two continental plates you are left with a rift valley. If two oceanic plates begin moving away from each other it creates a mid-oceanic ridge.