Age Of Ocean Floor Map

For that geologists date and study continental crust.

Age of ocean floor map.

Sio reference series 93 30 scripps institution of oceanography. New sea floor map for google earth january 13 2016 in late 2014 we had a look at a map of the ocean floor published by the scripps institution of oceanography university of california san diego. Ige table 5r below indicates the entire surface of the planet is rising outwardly at the present accelerating rate of 2 85 cm each year 6378 96 km. Prior to the publication of this map scientists had very little idea of what the seafloor looked like on a global.

Because of this correlation between age and subduction potential very little ocean floor is older than 125 million years and almost none of it is older than 200 million years. The data are described in a data and analysis note in the journal of geophysical research 1997 entitled digital isochrons of the world s ocean floor. Image taken from here. This dataset shows the age of the ocean floor along with the labeled tectonic plates and boundaries.

Note that the youngest seafloor ages are found at the mid ocean spreading ridges where new rock is constantly coming up from under the crust to heal the rifts formed as tectonic plates move away from one another. Therefore seafloor dating isn t that useful for studying plate motions beyond the cretaceous. The problem with that approach is that our oceans are vast and ships are small meaning only a tiny percentage of the ocean floor between 5 15 percent nasa estimates was mapped. To complete a map of earth s ocean floor you ve got to take to the high seas by boat.

The magma located under the solid crust is lifting the continents and the ocean floor s. Contours of 20 million years are available as a layer that is currently set to invisible. The data is from four companion digital models of the age age uncertainty spreading rates and spreading asymmetries of the world s ocean basins. We ve come a long way in ocean exploration since the days of the hms challenger launched in 1858.

The 1977 world ocean floor map created by bruce heezen and marie tharp. One of the most famous world maps is the 1977 world ocean floor map see above created by bruce heezen and marie tharp a pioneering female oceanographer and kick ass female scientist. A digital age map of the ocean floor.