Is there a correlation between the underwater geological activity and topology of the mid Atlantic ridge/ South American plate and the Gulf Stream?

Asked by: Lina Smith

What is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and how does it play a role in plate tectonics?

In between these continents lies the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a site where new plates are formed and a dividing line between plates moving to the west and those moving to the east; beneath this ridge, material rises to replace the space left by the plates as they move apart.

What tectonic plates are involved in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

The MAR separates the North American Plate from the Eurasian Plate in the North Atlantic, and the South American Plate from the African Plate in the South Atlantic. These plates are still moving apart, so the Atlantic is growing at the ridge, at a rate of about 2.5 cm per year in an east-west direction.

How was the Mid-Atlantic Ridge formed?

The Mid Atlantic Ridge, like other ocean ridge systems, has developed as a consequence of the divergent motion between the Eurasian and North American, and African and South American Plates.

Is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge divergent?

Perhaps the best known of the divergent boundaries is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This submerged mountain range, which extends from the Arctic Ocean to beyond the southern tip of Africa, is but one segment of the global mid-ocean ridge system that encircles the Earth.

What type of plate boundary caused the formation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

divergent plate boundaries

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of divergent plate boundaries. When two plates come together, it is known as a convergent boundary. The impact of the colliding plates can cause the edges of one or both plates to buckle up into a mountain ranges or one of the plates may bend down into a deep seafloor trench.

What is the role of the mid-ocean ridge in the movement of the lithospheric plates?

The mid-ocean ridge represents an area where, in accordance with plate tectonic theory, lithospheric plates (also called tectonic plates) move apart and new crust is created by magma (molten rock) pushing up from the mantle .

What is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge What are the interesting facts regarding this ridge?

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the longest mountain chain on Earth. It runs along the Atlantic Ocean floor from North America to beyond the southern tip of Africa. It rises 6,000–13,000ft (2,000–4,000m) above the sea floor, and runs for 10,000 miles (16,000km). Beneath the ridge is a place of great volcanic activity.

What tectonic forces dominate along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge divergent boundary?

At divergent boundaries, tensional forces dominate the interaction between plates.

What is the significance of the location of the island along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

This makes Iceland very special and a popular place for geologists and scientists. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is geologically significant because it marks the boundary where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet and separate.

What did scientists discover about the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

Running down the entire length to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge was a central valley where many earthquakes occurred. This discovery led to the general acceptance of Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift which became known as the Theory of Plate Tectonics.

What are two pieces of evidence that support the theory of plate tectonics?

Evidence from fossils, glaciers, and complementary coastlines helps reveal how the plates once fit together. Fossils tell us when and where plants and animals once existed. Some life “rode” on diverging plates, became isolated, and evolved into new species.

What island has been formed as a result of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and a hotspot?

Iceland is home to more than 100 volcanoes, around 35 of which have erupted in recent history. The volcanism on Iceland is attributed to the combination of Mid-Atlantic Ridge activity and hotspot activity. Eruptions occur about every 5-10 years and primarily consist of basaltic lava and tephra.

Which type of boundaries movement causing the formation of oceanic ridges?

When two plates are moving away from each other, we call this a divergent plate boundary. Along these boundaries, magma rises from deep within the Earth and erupts to form new crust on the lithosphere. Most divergent plate boundaries are underwater and form submarine mountain ranges called oceanic spreading ridges.

Which geologic features are associated with divergent boundaries?

The features most commonly associated with divergent boundaries between tectonic plates are rift valleys, ocean ridges, fissure volcanoes, and underwater mountain chains.

What can you say about the ages of the oceanic rocks for the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

Answer: The newest, thinnest crust on Earth is located near the center of mid-ocean ridge—the actual site of seafloor spreading. The age, density, and thickness of oceanic crust increases with distance from the mid-ocean ridge. … Eventually, older oceanic crust encounters a tectonic boundary with continental crust.

How were mid-ocean ridges discovered?

Because a mid-ocean ridge is submerged at very deep depths in the ocean, its existence was not even known until the 1950s, when it was discovered through surveys of the ocean floor conducted by research ships.

Where are mid-ocean ridges located?

Mid-ocean ridges occur along divergent plate boundaries, where new ocean floor is created as the Earth’s tectonic plates spread apart. As the plates separate, molten rock rises to the seafloor, producing enormous volcanic eruptions of basalt.

Which geologic feature is most likely to form at a mid-ocean ridge?

The vast majority of volcanic activity on the planet occurs along the mid-ocean ridge, and it is the place where the crust of the Earth is born. The material that erupts at spreading centers along the mid-ocean ridge is primarily basalt, the most common rock on Earth.

What is the largest mountain range on Earth either on land or underwater?

The mid-ocean ridge is the longest mountain range on Earth.



The longest mountain range on Earth is called the mid-ocean ridge. Spanning 40,389 miles around the globe, it’s truly a global landmark.