Table of Contents
What is it called when the ocean floor sinks back into the mantle?
The process by which the ocean floor sinks into the mantle is called Subduction ..
What process is taking place at the trenches?
Trenches are formed by subduction, a geophysical process in which two or more of Earth’s tectonic plates converge and the older, denser plate is pushed beneath the lighter plate and deep into the mantle, causing the seafloor and outermost crust (the lithosphere) to bend and form a steep, V-shaped depression.
What is the ocean floor process?
Bathymetry, the shape of the ocean floor, is largely a result of a process called plate tectonics. Where plates diverge from each other, molten magma flows upward between the plates, forming mid-ocean ridges, underwater volcanoes, hydrothermal vents, and new ocean floor crust.
What happens to the ocean floor in deep-ocean trenches?
In ocean trenches one tectonic plate sinks underneath another, called a subduction zone at convergent boundaries. As the oceanic plate sinks, it melts into the mantle and the magma is recycled into the Earth.
What process is shown occurring at ocean floor and why does it occur?
As the molten material cools, it forms a strip of solid rock in the center of the ridge. Then more molten material splits apart the strip of solid rock that formed before, pushing it aside. This process, called sea-floor spreading, continually adds new material to the ocean floor.
Which ocean basin has the most trenches Why?
the Pacific Ocean
Why are most oceanic trenches found in the Pacific Ocean? The Pacific Ocean is shrinking and plates are descending below surrounding plates along its edges, hence the creation of trenches.
What is under the ocean floor?
The ocean floor is called the abyssal plain. Below the ocean floor, there are a few small deeper areas called ocean trenches. Features rising up from the ocean floor include seamounts, volcanic islands and the mid-oceanic ridges and rises.
In which ocean basin are most ocean trenches found use plate tectonic processes to explain why?
Why are most oceanic trenches found in the Pacific Ocean? The Pacific Ocean is shrinking and plates are descending below surrounding plates along its edges, hence the creation of trenches.
Why does deep ocean trench occur?
Ocean trenches are a result of tectonic activity, which describes the movement of the Earth’s lithosphere. At many convergent plate boundaries, dense lithosphere melts or slides beneath less-dense lithosphere in a process called subduction, creating a trench.