GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -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.

Detailed explanation-2: -The youngest crust (shown in red) is near mid ocean ridges and spreading zones. All three rock types in the earth’s crust-igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic-can also be recycled back to their original molten magma form. This process occurs when oceanic crust is pushed back into the mantle at subduction zones.

Detailed explanation-3: -The age and density of oceanic crust increases with distance from mid-ocean ridges. Just as oceanic crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges, it is destroyed in subduction zones.

Detailed explanation-4: -Age of the crust: Comparing the ages of the oceanic crust near a mid-ocean ridge shows that the crust is youngest right at the spreading center, and gets progressively older as you move away from the divergent boundary in either direction, aging approximately 1 million years for every 20-40 km from the ridge.

Detailed explanation-5: -Earth’s outermost shell can be billions of years old on land, but most oceanic crusts are younger than 200 million years. Understanding where they developed can help us figure out what Earth looked like as continents formed, broke apart, and shifted around the globe hundreds of millions of years ago.