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DAILY
CLASS NOTES
Geography

Lecture - 06
Sea Floor Spreading Theory
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Sea Floor Spreading Theory

Sea Floor Spreading Theory:
❖ Harry Hess proposed the theory of sea floor spreading in 1962. He observed that the mid-ocean ridges are
volcanically active and that the ocean floor is younger closer to the ridges and older further away. He also
noted that the ocean floor is shallower closer to the ridges and deeper further away.
❖ Hess proposed that the mid-ocean ridges are where new oceanic crust is created. Hot magma from the
Earth's mantle rises up to the surface at the ridges and cools to form new sea floor. The new sea floor then
spreads away from the ridges in both directions. As the sea floor spreads, it cools and contracts, causing it to
sink deeper and deeper.
❖ At the ocean trenches, the oldest and deepest sea floor sinks back into the Earth's mantle. This process of sea
floor creation and destruction is known as sea floor spreading.
How Sea Floor Spreading Works?
❖ Magma from the Earth's mantle rises up to the surface at the mid-ocean ridges.
❖ The magma cools and solidifies to form a new sea floor.
❖ The new sea floor spreads away from the ridges in both directions.
❖ As the sea floor spreads, it cools and contracts, causing it to sink deeper and deeper.
❖ At the ocean trenches, the oldest and deepest sea floor sinks back into the Earth's mantle.
About Sea Floor Spreading:
❖ The ocean crust rocks (200 million years old) are much younger than the continental rocks (3200 million years
old).
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❖ The sediments on the ocean floor are unexpectedly very thin.

❖ The deep trenches have deep seated earthquake occurrences while in mid oceanic ridges, the quake foci have
shallow depths.
❖ Mid Oceanic ridge: A mid-oceanic ridge is composed of two chains of mountains separated by a large
depression. The mountain ranges can have peaks as high as 2,500 m and some even reach above the ocean’s
surface. Example: Iceland, a part of the mid-relief features of ocean floors Atlantic Ridge.
❖ Hess argued that constant eruptions at the crest of oceanic ridges cause the rupture of the oceanic crust and the
new lava wedges into it, pushing the oceanic crust on either side.
❖ The younger age of the oceanic crust as well as the fact that the spreading of one ocean does not cause the
shrinking of the other, the ocean floor thus spreads.
❖ He further maintained that the ocean floor that gets pushed due to volcanic eruptions at the crest, sinks down
at the oceanic trenches and gets consumed.
Evidence for Seafloor Spreading:
❖ Level of volcanic activity and temperature of ocean water: Volcanic activity is high at mid-ocean ridges,
and the temperature of the ocean water is also high. This is because the hot magma from the Earth's mantle is
rising to the surface at mid-ocean ridges.
❖ Rocks: Rocks on either side of mid-ocean ridges are similar in age, composition, and magnetic orientation.
This suggests that they were once formed together and then separated.
❖ Age of oceanic crust is younger than continental crust: Oceanic crust is much younger than continental
crust because it is constantly being recycled. New oceanic crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges, and old oceanic
crust is subducted (recycled) back into the Earth's mantle at ocean trenches.
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❖ Presence of 78,000 km-long continuous mountain range in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans: The
mid-ocean ridges form a continuous mountain range that runs through the world's oceans. This suggests that
the ocean basins are spreading apart.
❖ Presence of trenches: Trenches are deep, narrow valleys in the ocean floor that are found at the margins of
continents. They are the sites where old oceanic crust is subducted back into the Earth's mantle.
Distribution of Earthquakes and Volcanos:
❖ Mid-Atlantic Ridge: This ridge runs through the Atlantic Ocean and separates the North American Plate from
the South American Plate and the Eurasian Plate from the African Plate.
❖ East Pacific Rise: This ridge runs through the Pacific Ocean and separates the Pacific Plate from the North
American Plate and the South American Plate.
❖ Mid-Indian Ridge: This ridge runs through the Indian Ocean and separates the African Plate from the Indian
Plate and the Australian Plate.
❖ Ring of Fire: This is a belt of volcanoes and earthquake zones that encircles the Pacific Ocean. It includes the
Andes Mountains of South America, the Rocky Mountains of North America, the Cascade Range of the
northwestern United States, the Aleutian Islands, the Kuril Islands, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and New
Zealand.
➢ The Ring of Fire is home to some of the world's most active volcanoes, including Mount Fuji in Japan,
Mount Saint Helens in the United States, and Krakatoa in Indonesia.
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Hotspots:
❖ Hotspots are areas of intense volcanic activity that are not associated with plate boundaries. Hotspots are
thought to be caused by plumes of hot magma rising from the Earth's mantle.
❖ Some of the most well-known hotspots include:
➢ Hawaii: The Hawaiian Islands are a chain of volcanic islands that formed over a hotspot.
➢ Yellowstone: Yellowstone National Park in the United States is home to a massive caldera, which is a
volcanic crater that has formed over a hotspot.
➢ Iceland: Iceland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean that is located over a hotspot.
Palaeomagnetism:
❖ Palaeomagnetism is the study of the ancient magnetic field of the Earth by measuring the direction of
magnetization locked in iron-bearing minerals at or soon after the time the rocks were formed.

Earth’s Geomagnetic Field:

❖ Approximately, it is the field of a magnetic dipole currently tilted at an angle of about 11 degrees with
respect to Earth's rotational axis, as if there were a bar magnet placed at that angle at the center of the Earth.
❖ The geomagnetic field is a dynamic field and it changes with location and time.
❖ Study of this magnetic field and its variations gives us a better understanding about the metallic core of the
Earth.
❖ The position of the magnetic pole is different from the earth’s geographic poles.(difference of alignment)
❖ Since opposite poles attract, the North Magnetic Pole of the Earth is the south pole of its magnetic field. And
vice-a-versa
❖ Earth's magnetic field moves from north to south pole of the earth magnetic bar.
❖ Geomagnetic field is the cause of the formation of the magnetosphere around the Earth.
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Causes of Geomagnetic Field:

❖ The Magnetic Field of the Earth is generated by the motion of molten iron alloys in the Earth’s outer core.
❖ Differences in temperature, pressure, and composition within the core cause convection currents in the molten
metal.
❖ This flow of liquid iron generates electric currents, which in turn produce magnetic fields. This effect is known
as Dynamo Effect.
❖ Local magnetic dipole- small magnetic field (due to rotation). They generate a local magnetic field and due
to which there is a complete rotation of the cycle.
Theories of Formation of Magnetic Field:
❖ Gilbert's Theory: It was the first theory. He assumed that inside the earth there is a real bar magnet and
because of it there is a magnetic field.
➢ Criticism: It is impossible to have a solid bar inside the liquid core.
❖ Rock Magnetism: There are few rocks that are magnetic in nature inside the earth randomly placed because
of it there is a magnetic field.
➢ Criticism: Critics question the theory for the reason of the magnetic property of the rocks.
❖ Dynamo Effect: It was propounded by Walter. There is a molten region inside the earth that is moving inside
(electron movement) the earth due to which there is the magnetic field.
Significance of Geomagnetic Field:
❖ Protection from Solar Winds: This field acts as a shield that blocks the solar winds emanating from the
sun. This wind consists of energetically charged particles that can severely damage life on the planet.
➢ However, some particles manage to enter our planet, being directed by the magnetic field towards the
poles, causing those amazing lights known as Polar Lights – Auroras.
❖ Navigation: The geomagnetic field is crucial for navigation, particularly with the use of compasses.
➢ Some animals, such as migratory birds, sea turtles like the olive ridley, and certain fish species, have the
ability to sense and use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation during their long-distance migrations.
❖ Provides information about Past Records: The study of paleo-magnetism provides us with information
about the past record of geomagnetism and the age of rocks on the surface of the planet.
❖ Contributions to Earth Science Theories: Paleomagnetic studies have also helped in developing the theories
of Seafloor spreading and Plate Tectonics.
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Geomagnetic Reversal:
❖ A geomagnetic reversal is a change in a planet's magnetic field such that the positions of magnetic north
and magnetic south are interchanged. This happens in a cycle of a few hundred thousand years.
❖ The intensity of the geomagnetic field is greatest near the poles and weaker near the Equator.
❖ The earth's magnetic pole in the northern hemisphere is located on a peninsula in northern Canada.
❖ Earth's magnetic equator passes through Thumba in South India.

Causes of the Reversal:

❖ Sun Spot Theory: Solar storms of a high magnitude completely covers the earth and which led to a change in
its polarity. This theory is not valid.
❖ Comet Hit Theory: A huge comet hit earth due to which shaking happened and earth’s magnetic field
changed.
❖ Local Dipole and Heat Transfer: It is the most accepted theory. A small magnetic field (due to rotation) is
generated.
➢ It generates a local magnetic field and due to which there is a complete rotation of the cycle.
➢ Some of the rotations are in opposite directions, due to which after a long time period due to their increase
in numbers the overall magnetic field gets reversed.
Geomagnetic Poles:
❖ Geomagnetic poles (dipole poles) is the intersection of the Earth surface and the axis of a bar magnet
hypothetically placed at the center of the earth.
❖ The geomagnetic poles are antipodal points where the axis of a best-fitting dipole intersects the surface
of Earth.
❖ In contrast, the actual magnetic poles of the Earth are not antipodal; that is, the line on which they lie
does not pass through Earth's center.
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❖ If the Earth's magnetic field were a perfect dipole, the field lines would be vertical to the surface at the
Geomagnetic Poles, and they would coincide with the North and South magnetic poles.
❖ However, the approximation is imperfect, and so the Magnetic and Geomagnetic Poles lie some distance apart.

Plate Tectonic Theory:

❖ About:
➢ The Plate Tectonics theory, which explains the dynamic movement of Earth's lithospheric plates, is built
upon several foundational concepts like the continental drift theory, convection current theory and the
theory of seafloor spreading.
➢ In 1967, McKenzie and Parker proposed the Plate Tectonics theory, which was further detailed by
Morgan in 1968.
❖ Types of Plates: Earth's lithospheric plates come in various forms, mainly determined by the type of material
they comprise and their location:
➢ Continental Plates: These are primarily composed of Sialic material and tend to be thicker compared to
oceanic plates.
➢ Oceanic Plates: Mainly consisting of Simatic crust, oceanic plates are thinner relative to continental
plates.
➢ Combination Plates: Some plates are a combination of both continental and oceanic material. For
example, the Indo-Australian plate includes elements of both.
❖ Plate Movement: The driving force behind plate movement is the convection currents in the Earth's mantle.
As these currents circulate, they interact with the lithospheric plates, causing them to move. This movement is
responsible for various landform formations and is the primary cause of all major geological phenomena and
Earth's dynamic nature.
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Major and Minor Plates of the World:

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Types of Plate Boundaries and Movements:

Major Plates 1. Antarctic (and the surrounding oceanic) plate

2. North American plate (with the western Atlantic floor separated from the South
American plate along the Caribbean islands)
3. South American plate (with the western Atlantic floor separated from the North
American plate along the Caribbean islands)
4. Pacific plate
5. India-Australia-New Zealand plate
6. Africa with the eastern Atlantic floor plate
7. Eurasia and the adjacent oceanic plate.

Minor Plates 1. Cocos plate

2. Nazca plate
3. Arabian plate
4. Philippine plate
5. Caroline plate
6. Fuji plate
7. Juan De Fuca plate
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Mapping of North America:

Mapping:
Mountain Ranges of North America:
❖ Brooks Range: The Brooks Range is a mountain range in northern Alaska. It is the northernmost mountain
range in the United States.
❖ Alaska Range: The Alaska Range is a mountain range in south-central Alaska. It is the highest mountain
range in North America.
❖ Coast Range: The Coast Range is a mountain range that runs along the west coast of North America, from
southern Alaska to northern California.
❖ Cascade Range: The Cascade Range is a mountain range in the western United States, from southern Oregon
to British Columbia.
❖ Nevado: The Nevado Mountains are a mountain range in Mexico. They are part of the Sierra Madre Occidental
mountain range.
❖ Rocky Mountains: The Rocky Mountains are a mountain range that runs along the western United States and
Canada. They are the longest mountain range in North America.
❖ Sierra Madre Oriental: The Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range is a mountain range in Mexico. It is part
of the North American Cordillera.
❖ Western Cordillera: The Western Cordillera is a mountain range that runs along the western edge of North
America. It includes the Rocky Mountains, the Coast Range, and the Sierra Nevada.
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