back-arc spreading
back-arc spreading The formation of the oceanic crust of the marginal basins, which is thought to occur by a process similar to that of normal oceanic crust, but involving a convective system developed over a subducting lithospheric plate. In most known instances the injection of new oceanic crust appears to be diffuse, rather than concentrated into spreading ridges.
More From encyclopedia.com
Seafloor Spreading , seafloor spreading, theory of lithospheric evolution that holds that the ocean floors are spreading outward from vast underwater ridges. First propos… Mid-ocean Ridge , Mid-Ocean Ridges
The mid-ocean ridge is an interconnected system of undersea volcanoes that meander over the Earth like the raised seams on a basebal… Antarctic Ocean , Antarctic Ocean Ocean , Oceans are large bodies of salt water that surround Earth's continents and occupy the basins between them. The four major oceans of the world are the… Panthalassa , Panthalassa The name given to the vast oceanic area that surrounded Pangaea when that supercontinent was in existence. Tethys was a minor arm of this… Paleotethys , Palaeotethys There is confusion over the relationship between Tethys (or Neotethys) and Palaeotethys. Some authors refer to the existence of a late P…
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
back-arc spreading