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Why does oceanic lithosphere sink at subduction zones but not at mid-ocean ridges?
Oceanic crust forms from hot magma rising to Earth’s surface at divergent plate boundaries… Because ocean crust is more dense than continental crust, it will sink beneath continents if tectonic forces push the oceanic crust into the continent.
Why does oceanic crust sink during subduction?
Neither continental crust will subduct underneath one another because of their similar densities. When two oceanic plates converge, the denser plate will end up sinking below the less dense plate, leading to the formation of an oceanic subduction zone.
Do subduction zones cause mid-ocean ridges?
The subduction zone, accordingly, is the antithesis of the mid-oceanic ridge. New seafloor is generated from the upper mantle at the mid-oceanic ridges, spreads laterally outward, and is eventually subducted, or consumed, at the margins of ocean basins.
What is the difference between mid-ocean ridges and subduction zones?
Mid-ocean ridge volcanoes tend to be linear and look like long, low ridges, while volca- noes at subduction zones tend to be cone- shaped and isolated. Volcanoes at subduction zones often erupt explosively; volcanoes at mid-ocean ridges usually do not.
When two oceanic plates converge What determines which crust will submerge?
When two oceanic plates converge what determines which crust will submerge? the age, temperature, and density of the crust. Why do transform faults form? They form because the axis of seafloor spreading across the surface of the Earth cannot follow a straight line smoothly.
Which two tectonic plates are separated by a mid ocean ridge?
Seafloor spreading occurs along mid-ocean ridges—large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, for instance, separates the North American plate from the Eurasian plate, and the South American plate from the African plate.
What can we expect to find at a mid ocean ridge?
Because mid-ocean ridges are places where tectonic plates are pulling apart, you might expect to find an incredibly deep canyon, but that’s not exactly the case. As the tectonic plates pull apart, molten rock, or magma, comes up from below to fill in the gaps.