Age Of Pacific Ocean Floor
Because of this correlation between age and subduction potential very little ocean floor is older than 125 million years and almost none of it is older than 200 million years.
Age of pacific ocean floor. The data is from four companion digital models of the age age uncertainty spreading rates and spreading asymmetries of the world s ocean basins. The youngest regions are coloured red whereas the oldest regions are coloured blue. The pacific ocean was born 750 million years ago at the breakup of rodinia although it is generally called the panthalassic ocean until the breakup of pangea about 200 million years ago. The following features are shown at example depths to scale though each feature has a considerable range at which it may occur.
The data are described in a data and analysis note in the journal of geophysical research 1997 entitled digital isochrons of the world s ocean floor. This dataset shows the age of the ocean floor along with the labeled tectonic plates and boundaries. A digital age map of the ocean floor. Based on ages of the oldest rocks in the north and south atlantic describe how and when the atlantic ocean formed and how its shape has changed through time.
Contours of 20 million years are available as a layer that is currently set to invisible. This graphic shows several ocean floor features on a scale from 0 35 000 feet below sea level. Age of the ocean floor a critical analysis february 4 2019 eugene ellis the ionic growing earth ige posits the same 8 elements that started the earth heated the planet for the first 3 3 5 billion years of its existence see ige fig. Visualize how the atlantic ocean floor started separating the continents and grew to its present size.
Therefore seafloor dating isn t that useful for studying plate motions beyond the cretaceous. Seafloor spreading in three ocean basins patterns of seafloor spreading in the pacific left arctic centre and atlantic right oceans showing the relative age of oceanic crust. The oldest pacific ocean floor is only around 180 ma old with older crust subducted by now. Continental shelf 300 feet continental slope 300 10 000 feet abyssal plain 10 000 feet abyssal hill 3 000 feet up from the abyssal plain seamount 6 000 feet.
Sio reference series 93 30 scripps institution of oceanography.