Sea Floor Magnetic Pattern

Magnetic evidence for seafloor spreading explains how magnetic polarity frozen into seafloor basalts reveals evidence for the creation of new seafloor at mid ocean ridges.

Sea floor magnetic pattern.

Such magnetic patterns led to recognition of the occurrence of sea floor spreading and they remain some of the strongest evidence for the theory of plate tectonics. When the earth s magnetic field reverses a new stripe with the new polarity begins. Geophysicists can read these patterns from the magnetic anomalies they measure with a magnetometer. The magnetism of mid ocean ridges helped scientists first identify the process of seafloor spreading in the early 20th century.

Samples collected from the ocean floor show that the age of oceanic crust increases with distance from the spreading centre important evidence in favour of this process. Understanding patterns of sea floor magnetism 30 points a magnetometer is an instrument used to measure very small variations in the magnetic intensity of the upper part of the earth s crust magnetometers can be moved around on land usually by a person on foot used in the air towed beneath an aircraft or used at sea towed behind a ship. Where the magnetic wiggles or anomalies are broader the spreading rate has been faster. Plate tectonics plate tectonics seafloor spreading.

As upwelling of magma continues the plates continue to diverge a process known as seafloor spreading. These age data also allow the rate of seafloor spreading to be. At slow spreading ridges the anomalies are squeezed tighter together but the basic.