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Earth's System: Earth’s Layers and Plate Tectonics
Seafloor Spreading Hypothesis
Description
Seafloor Spreading Hypothesis
In the 1960s, scientist Harry Hess proposed the Seafloor Spreading Hypothesis, which provided key evidence for plate tectonics. According to this idea, new oceanic crust forms at mid-ocean ridges as magma rises from below Earth's surface. As the new crust cools and solidifies, it pushes the ol...
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Transcript
A scientist named Harry Hess studied the ocean floor and discovered a massive mountain range running through the middle of the ocean. This is called the mid-ocean ridge, where new seafloor forms.
Hess proposed that hot magma rises from deep inside the Earth at these ridges. When it reaches the surface, it cools and forms new seafloor.
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