EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -These plates are still moving apart, so the Atlantic is growing at the ridge, at a rate of about 2.5 cm per year in an east-west direction. Most of the ridge system is under water but forms land as a set of volcanic islands of varying size that run the length of the Atlantic Ocean.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs down the center of the Atlantic Ocean, slowly spreading at a rate of 2 to 5 centimeters (0.8 to 2 inches) per year and forming a rift valley that is about the depth and width of the Grand Canyon.

Detailed explanation-3: -These days, the Atlantic Ocean is growing at a rate of five centimetres per year, as new sea floor is created by volcanic activity along its mid-ocean ridge. On the other hand, the much older Pacific Ocean is currently estimated to be shrinking by two to three centimetres each year.

Detailed explanation-4: -Two of the most carefully studied mid-ocean ridges are the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the East Pacific Rise (called a rise because it has more gentle slopes). The Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs down the center of the Atlantic Ocean.

Detailed explanation-5: -The oceanic crust is in a constant state of ‘renewal’ at the mid-ocean ridges by the processes of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics. New magma steadily emerges onto the ocean floor and intrudes into the existing ocean crust at and near rifts along the ridge axes.