Close

2021-07-04

How is the age of the ocean sediments related to the distance from a mid-ocean ridge?

How is the age of the ocean sediments related to the distance from a mid-ocean ridge?

Seafloor sediment increases in thickness away from the mid-ocean ridge because the oceanic crust is older farther away from the ridge. More sediment will accumulate on the seafloor over time; therefore, the older the crust, the thicker the sediment deposits.

What is the relationship between the age of sediment and the thickness of the sediment?

Generally, the thickness of sediment on the oceanic crust increases with the age of the crust. Oceanic crust adjacent to the continents can be deeply buried by several kilometres of sediment.

What is the relationship between the ridge and the age of sediment?

Teacher: Bottom sediment increases in age with distance from the ridge. There is a direct relationship between distance from ridge axis and age. Hypothesize why the ages of sediment overlying basement also show increasing age away from the ridge.

Which of the following increases with distance from a mid ocean ridge?

The age, density, and thickness of oceanic crust increases with distance from the mid-ocean ridge. The magnetism of mid-ocean ridges helped scientists first identify the process of seafloor spreading in the early 20th century.

Why is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge important?

Mid-ocean ridges are geologically important because they occur along the kind of plate boundary where new ocean floor is created as the plates spread apart. Thus the mid-ocean ridge is also known as a “spreading center” or a “divergent plate boundary.” The plates spread apart at rates of 1 cm to 20 cm per year.

Is England on a tectonic plate?

The British Isles sits in the middle of a tectonic plate, Eurasia. Our nearest plate boundary is at the mid-Atlantic ridge, where the earthquakes are too small to generate tsunami. The UK experiences a magnitude 5 earthquake roughly every 25 years. These events typically cause some superficial damage.