mid-ocean ridges form at mountain type of boundary.
mid-ocean ridges form at mountain type of boundary.
mid-ocean ridges form at which type of boundary?
mountain
a mid-ocean ridge (mor) is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. it typically has a depth of ~ and rises about two kilometers above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. this feature is where seafloor spreading takes place along a divergent plate boundary. the rate of seafloor spreading determines the morphology of the crest of the mid-ocean ridge and its width in an ocean basin. the production of new seafloor and oceanic lithosphere results from mantle upwelling in response to plate separation. the melt rises as magma at the linear weakness in the oceanic crust, and emerges as lava, creating new crust and lithosphere upon cooling. the mid-atlantic ridge is a spreading center that bisects the north and south atlantic basins; hence the origin of the name 'mid-ocean ridge'. most oceanic spreading centers are not in the middle of their hosting ocean basis but regardless, are called mid-ocean ridges. mid-ocean ridges around the globe are linked by plate tectonic boundaries and appear similar to the seam of a baseball. the mid-ocean ridge system thus is the longest mountain range on earth, reaching about .
mid-ocean ridge
oceanic crust, which forms the bedrock of abyssal plains, is continuously being created at mid-ocean ridges (a type of divergent boundary) by a process known as decompression melting. plume-related decompression melting of solid mantle is responsible for creating ocean islands like the hawaiian islands, as well as the ocean crust at mid-ocean ridges. this phenomenon is also the most common explanation for flood basalts and oceanic plateaus (two types of large igneous provinces). decompression melting occurs when the upper mantle is partially melted into magma as it moves upwards under mid-ocean ridges. this upwelling magma then cools and solidifies by conduction and convection of heat to form new oceanic crust. accretion occurs as mantle is added to the growing edges of a tectonic plate, usually associated with seafloor spreading. the age of oceanic crust is therefore a function of distance from the mid-ocean ridge. the youngest oceanic crust is at the mid-ocean ridges, and it becomes progressively older, cooler and denser as it migrates outwards from the mid-ocean ridges as part of the process called mantle convection.
abyssal plain