What did scientists find when studying the Mid-Ocean Ridge?

What did scientists find when studying the Mid-Ocean Ridge?

It is now called the Mid-Ocean Ridge. In 1953, American physicists Maurice Ewing (1906-1974) and Bruce Heezen (1924-1977) discovered that through this underwater mountain range ran a deep canyon. Ewing and Heezen’s finding marked an explosion in data from newly advanced technology that revolutionized geology.

How did scientists use Earth’s magnetic field to determine the age of a mid-ocean ridge?

Seafloor Ages Different seafloor magnetic stripes equal different ages. By using geologic dating techniques, scientists could figure out what these ages are. They found that the youngest rocks on the seafloor were at the mid-ocean ridges. The rocks get older with distance from the ridge crest.

What information is revealed by magnetism on rocks?

Rock magnetism provides non-destructive methods for analyzing these minerals such as magnetic hysteresis measurements, temperature-dependent remanence measurements, Mössbauer spectroscopy, ferromagnetic resonance and so on.

What do you observe about the magnetic stripe pattern on each side of the oceanic ridge?

What do you observe about the magnetic stripe pattern on each side of the oceanic ridge? The stripes are symmetric across the Oceanic Ridge.

What did scientists discover in the Atlantic ocean in 1953?

We now know that the ocean ridge system snakes around the entire globe in a continuous chain some 80,000 kilometers long. In 1953, scientists discovered that a prominent valley, called the Great Global Rift, ran down the center of these ridges.

How did the scientists determine the age of the ocean floor?

Scientists can determine the age of the seafloor by examining the changing magnetic field of our planet. While it cools down, it records the magnetic field during its formation. The two parts of the oceanic plate are pulled apart, and magnetic stripes become older as they move away from the mid-ocean ridge.

Who studied magnetism in rocks?

…1950s as knowledge of Earth’s magnetic field during the geologic past developed from the studies of Stanley K. Runcorn, Patrick M.S. Blackett, and others. Ferromagnetic minerals such as magnetite acquire a permanent magnetization when they crystallize as components of igneous rock.

What observation did scientists make in the 1950s about the magnetic polarity of rocks?

Continental Drift
Evidence for Continental Drift: Magnetic Polarity New evidence for magnetic drift was discovered in the 1950s from studies of Earth’s magnetic history. Earth has a magnetic field like that of a bar magnet, with magnetic north and south poles. The magnetic poles are located near the geographic poles.

What magnetic readings are detected in stripes of the ocean floor closest to the crest of ocean ridges?

It was found that the younger stripes of ocean floor closest to the ridge are always of normal polarity, which means they have a magnetic field aligned in the same direction as the earth’s present-day magnetic field.

How were scientists able to determine the date of the magnetic reversals during seafloor spreading?

How were scientists able to determine the date of the magnetic reversals during seafloor spreading? A record of Earth’s magnetic field is recorded in oceanic rocks, which show a clear pattern of changes in Earth’s magnetic polarity.

What are the magnetic stripes of the mid ocean ridge?

At the mid-ocean ridge spreading axis, these flips in the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field are recorded in the magnetization of the lava. This creates a symmetrical pattern of magnetic stripes of opposite polarity on either side of mid-ocean ridges.

How did scientists discover the spreading of the ocean floor?

Geomagnetic Reversals The magnetism of mid-ocean ridges helped scientists first identify the process of seafloor spreading in the early 20th century. Basalt, the once- molten rock that makes up most new oceanic crust, is a fairly magnetic substance, and scientists began using magnetometer s to measure the magnetism of the ocean floor in the 1950s.

How are magnetic anomalies recorded on the sea floor?

As it cools it becomes permanently magnetized in the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field. Magnetometers, towed near the sea surface behind research ships or mounted on submarines like Alvin, measure the magnetic anomalies or “wiggles” that record the changes in magnetization of the volcanic sea floor.

How many times has the earth’s magnetic field been reversed?

Less than 60 years ago, scientists discovered that the Earth’s magnetic field has reversed its polarity (direction) hundreds of times during the past several hundred million years. A polarity reversal means that the magnetic North flips to where we know the South Pole is.