Volcanic eruptions are common throughout the world.

Under the volcano, there is a lot of very

hot, molten rock called magma. The formation and movement of magma under the Earth's crust
is a process known as magmatism. The word magma was originally a Greek word used to refer
to a kind of thick, oozing ointment, and this same word was first used in 1859 to describe the
thick, hot, molten rock that forms just under the Earth's surface. When magma comes to the
surface of the Earth, as it does during a volcanic eruption, it is called lava.

During a volcanic eruption, magma rises to the surface, where it emerges as lava

How Does Magma Form?

Everything we can see on the surface of the Earth makes up Earth's crust. A few kilometers
under the surface, the structure of the rocks present changes as you cross into the mantle. The
mantle is very hot and dense, but it is mostly semi-solid. However, right at the boundary between
the crust and the mantle, conditions are sometimes just right for liquid magma to form. In order
for rock to liquefy into magma, the temperature has to be very high and the pressure must also be
relatively low compared with other areas in the mantle.

Where Does Magma Form?

The crust of the Earth is divided into many large tectonic plates, and these plates are always in
motion relative to each other. Whenever tectonic plates come into contact with each other, it
creates conditions that commonly result in the formation of magma. Magma usually forms at the
boundaries between these tectonic plates.

In areas where two plates are pulling away from each other, known as divergent boundaries,
the pressure is reduced between the plates, causing magma to form. As the magma is pulled up to
the surface, it solidifies to form new crust, filling in the space between the separating plates. One
place this is happening right now is at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that runs the length of the Atlantic
Ocean. At the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the North American and South American plates are moving
slowly west, while the Eurasian and African plates are moving east. Where the plates separate,
there are a series of mostly underwater volcanoes, where magma rises to the surface as lava and
turns into new crust. At the Mid-Atlantic ridge, these two plates move apart at a rate of about 2.5
cm every single year!

At the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, magma rises to the surface as two tectonic plates pull apart from
each other

Earth's newest crust is created at sites of seafloor spreading—red sites on this map.

Map courtesy NOAA

Triple Junctions

Seafloor spreading and rift valleys are common features at “triple junctions.” Triple
junctions are the intersection of three divergent plate boundaries. The triple junction is
the central point where three cracks (boundaries) split off at about 120° angles from each
other.

In the Afar Triple Junction, the African, Somali, and Arabian plates are splitting from
each other. The Great Rift Valley and Red Sea (a major site of seafloor spreading) are the
result of plate tectonics in the Afar Triple Junction.

Seafloor spreading is a geologic process in which tectonic plates—large slabs of Earth's

lithosphere—split apart from each other.

Seafloor spreading and other tectonic activity processes are the result of mantle
convection. Mantle convection is the slow, churning motion of Earth’s mantle.
Convection currents carry heat from the lower mantle and core to the lithosphere.
Convection currents also “recycle” lithospheric materials back to the mantle.
Seafloor spreading occurs at divergent plate boundaries. As tectonic plates slowly move
away from each other, heat from the mantle’s convection currents makes the crust more
plastic and less dense. The less-dense material rises, often forming a mountain or
elevated area of the seafloor.

Eventually, the crust cracks. Hot magma fueled by mantle convection bubbles up to fill
these fractures and spills onto the crust. This bubbled-up magma is cooled by frigid
seawater to form igneous rock. This rock (basalt) becomes a new part of Earth’s crust.

Mid-Ocean Ridges

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. The East
Pacific Rise is a mid-ocean ridge that runs through the eastern Pacific Ocean and
separates the Pacific plate from the North American plate, the Cocos plate, the Nazca
plate, and the Antarctic plate. The Southeast Indian Ridge marks where the southern
Indo-Australian plate forms a divergent boundary with the Antarctic plate.

Seafloor spreading is not consistent at all mid-ocean ridges. Slowly spreading ridges are
the sites of tall, narrow underwater cliffs and mountains. Rapidly spreading ridges have a
much more gentle slopes.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, for instance, is a slow spreading center. It spreads 2-5
centimeters (.8-2 inches) every year and forms an ocean trench about the size of the
Grand Canyon. The East Pacific Rise, on the other hand, is a fast spreading center. It
spreads about 6-16 centimeters (3-6 inches) every year. There is not an ocean trench at
the East Pacific Rise, because the seafloor spreading is too rapid for one to develop!

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.
Geomagnetic Reversals

The magnetism of mid-ocean ridges helped scientists first identify the process of seafloor
spreading in the early 20th century. Basalt, the once-molten rock that makes up most new
oceanic crust, is a fairly magnetic substance, and scientists began using magnetometers to
measure the magnetism of the ocean floor in the 1950s. What they discovered was that
the magnetism of the ocean floor around mid-ocean ridges was divided into matching
“stripes” on either side of the ridge. The specific magnetism of basalt rock is determined
by the Earth’s magnetic field when the magma is cooling.

Scientists determined that the same process formed the perfectly symmetrical stripes on
both side of a mid-ocean ridge. The continual process of seafloor spreading separated the
stripes in an orderly pattern.

Geographic Features

Oceanic crust slowly moves away from mid-ocean ridges and sites of seafloor spreading.
As it moves, it becomes cooler, more dense, and more thick. Eventually, older oceanic
crust encounters a tectonic boundary with continental crust.

In some cases, oceanic crust encounters an active plate margin. An active plate margin is
an actual plate boundary, where oceanic crust and continental crust crash into each other.
Active plate margins are often the site of earthquakes and volcanoes. Oceanic crust
created by seafloor spreading in the East Pacific Rise, for instance, may become part of
the Ring of Fire, the horseshoe-shaped pattern of volcanoes and earthquake zones around
the Pacific ocean basin.

In other cases, oceanic crust encounters a passive plate margin. Passive margins are not
plate boundaries, but areas where a single tectonic plate transitions from oceanic
lithosphere to continental lithosphere. Passive margins are not sites of faults or
subduction zones. Thick layers of sediment overlay the transitional crust of a passive
margin. The oceanic crust of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, for instance, will either become part
of the passive margin on the North American plate (on the east coast of North America)
or the Eurasian plate (on the west coast of Europe).
 New geographic features can be created through seafloor spreading. The Red Sea, for
example, was created as the African plate and the Arabian plate tore away from each
other. Today, only the Sinai Peninsula connects the Middle East (Asia) with North
Africa. Eventually, geologists predict, seafloor spreading will completely separate the
two continents—and join the Red and Mediterranean Seas.

Mid-ocean ridges and seafloor spreading can also influence sea levels. As oceanic crust
moves away from the shallow mid-ocean ridges, it cools and sinks as it becomes more
dense. This increases the volume of the ocean basin and decreases the sea level. For
instance, a mid-ocean ridge system in Panthalassa—an ancient ocean that surrounded the
supercontinent Pangaea—contributed to shallower oceans and higher sea levels in the
Paleozoic era. Panthalassa was an early form of the Pacific Ocean, which today
experiences less seafloor spreading and has a much less extensive mid-ocean ridge
system. This helps explain why sea levels have fallen dramatically over the past 80
million years.

Seafloor spreading disproves an early part of the theory of continental drift. Supporters of
continental drift originally theorized that the continents moved (drifted) through
unmoving oceans. Seafloor spreading proves that the ocean itself is a site of tectonic
activity.

Keeping Earth in Shape

Seafloor spreading is just one part of plate tectonics. Subduction is another. Subduction
happens where tectonic plates crash into each other instead of spreading apart. At
subduction zones, the edge of the denser plate subducts, or slides, beneath the less-dense
one. The denser lithospheric material then melts back into the Earth's mantle.

Seafloor spreading creates new crust. Subduction destroys old crust. The two forces
roughly balance each other, so the shape and diameter of the Earth remain constant.

Articles & Profiles

 National Geographic News: Oldest Rocks on Earth Discovered?

 National Geographic News: Seafloor Still About 90 Percent Unknown
Audio & Video

 National Park Service: Plate Tectonics Animations

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Key Concepts

1. geology
2. ocean
3. rift valleys
4. rocks
5. subduction
6. crust
7. mid-ocean ridges
8. plate tectonics
9. seafloor spreading

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