How does magnetic striping support the theory of plate tectonics?
During times of normal magnetic polarity, the rocks being created stayed normal. If they were created during times of reverse polarity, the rocks would freeze that magnetic orientation in place.
How do magnetic stripes on the ocean floor support the theory of seafloor spreading?
When the Earth’s magnetic field reverses, a new stripe, with the new polarity, begins. 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. The map view depicts the visible appearance of the oceanic crust.
What evidence in the ocean floor supports the theory of plate tectonics?
There is variety of evidence that supports the claims that plate tectonics accounts for (1) the distribution of fossils on different continents, (2) the occurrence of earthquakes, and (3) continental and ocean floor features including mountains, volcanoes, faults, and trenches.
How does magnetic striping happen?
The striped magnetic pattern develops because, as oceanic crust pulls apart, magma rises to the surface at mid-ocean ridges and spills out to create new bands of ocean floor. Later, after the planet’s magnetic field flips again, the next stripe of new ocean floor aligns its polarity in the opposite direction.
What is magnetic striping is evidence of?
Magnetic striping is evidence of seafloor spreading.
What does magnetic stripe pattern mean?
This represents periodic reversals in the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field.
Why are magnetic patterns important evidence for plate tectonics?
Magnetic patterns are important evidence for plate tectonics because we can use the magnetic signatures of rock to identify the movement of large…
How were magnetic patterns on the seafloor discovered?
Data from magnetometers dragged behind ships looking for enemy submarines in WWII discovered amazing magnetic patterns on the seafloor. The magnetic pole reverses from time to time. The north pole becomes the south pole, and the south pole becomes the north pole.
What is magnetic striping?
Magnetic Striping is when the sea floor is spreading, and magma from the mantle is rising through the Earth’s crust. That magma then turns into new crust, forming the “Oceanic Crust”.
What causes the magnetic stripes on the ocean floor?
Plate tectonics and reversals of the Earth’s magnetic field are responsible for the magnetic stripes found on the ocean floor.
How do plate tectonics affect the earth’s magnetic field?
Using previously unavailable data, scientists at the University of Lancaster confirm a correlation between the movement of plate tectonics on the Earth’s surface, the flow of mantle above the Earth’s core and the rate of reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field which has long been hypothesized.
What is the seafloor spreading theory of plate tectonics?
By explaining both the zebralike magnetic striping and the construction of the mid-ocean ridge system, the seafloor spreading hypothesis quickly gained converts and represented another major advance in the development of the plate-tectonics theory.
How did the discovery of magnetic stripes validate the plate tectonics theory?
The discovery of magnetic stripes on the seafloor in the 1950s validated the plate tectonics theory for the geological community. The theory of plate tectonics states that the lithosphere, which is the Earth’s outer layer, is divided up into a dozens of irregularly shaped plates.