Ocean Formation 16 September 2014

Theory of continental drift: all continents were unified and drifted apart over time to current positions. First proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912.

Why do the continents drift in the first place?

Earth Layers Crust(solid) Mantle (molten) Outer Core (liquid) Inner Core (solid) Lithosphere: the outer shell of the Earth consisting of the crust and upper mantle.

Tectonic Plates: Large pieces of the Earth’s crust Involved the movement of plates.

Mid-Ocean Ridge: An underwater mountain range

The Great Global Rift: A break in the Earth’s crust through which magma emerges. The magma pushes through because of convection. This leads to Sea Floor Spreading.

Sea-Floor Spreading Sea floor spreading is the outward spreading of the lithosphere from ocean ridges.

Trenches encircle most of the pacific rim Trenches encircle most of the pacific rim. They form when 2 plates collide and one plate plunges under the other. This region is also known as a convergent plate boundary

Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions can result from the friction and stress near trenches.

Interaction between seawater and magma Seawater soaks through pores and is heated by magma.

The rising water dissolves minerals and is released through vents near ocean ridges. These minerals include Fe, H2S, Mg, and methane.

These minerals are necessary for hemoglobin, chlorophyll, and sulfur-fixing bacteria. phytoplankton take in these minerals which makes it available for other organism