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by curiousandinterested on July 23rd, 2006

curiousandinterested

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Where would you expect to find the oldest basalt on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean?

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  • by Glenn Blaylock on July 24th, 2006

    Glenn Blaylock

    The oldest crust in the Atlantic is found right next to the continents. The basalts of the ocean floors are created at the mid-ocean ridges and moves away from these ridges as new crust is created. Thus as one moves further from the mid-ocean ridges, the age of the oceanic crust increases. In the Atlantic ocean, this means that the oldest crust, the oldest basalts, are found right next to the continents.

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    "curiousandinterested: So would that mean they would be along the mid-Atlantic Rift or about midway between the mid-Atlantic Rift and the shore of North America? Thank you for your help!!!"

    Ok, perhaps the following will help:

    http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/image/2minrelief.html

    This map shows the ages of the Atlantic Ocean floor. The red area is the mid-ocean ridge and is the youngest crust in that basin. The crust get progressively older as you move to either side of the ridge until you get to the continents themselves. The oldest oceanic crust is that which is right next to the continents.

    See http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/image/crustalimages.html for additional maps.

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  • by cielo on October 6th, 2008

    cielo

    A slight divergence from the statement that the oldest rock is adjacent to the continents.
    Molten rock rises at the mid-Atlantic ridge, moves outward from there and drops back down into the magma (the underground area of molten rock) at the trench which is close to the shore of the continents. This means that the oldest seabed rock is on the seaward side of the trench, just before the seabed dives down into the magma again.
    For an example of this type of movement, watch a pot of porridge simmering, it shows the action perfectly.

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