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The Pacific is also home to one of the world's most active spreading centers (the East Pacific Rise) with spreading rates of up to 145 ± 4 mm/yr between the Pacific and Nazca plates. [20] The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a slow-spreading center, while the East Pacific Rise is an example of fast spreading.
Harry Hess proposed the seafloor spreading hypothesis in 1960 (published in 1962 [1]); the term "spreading of the seafloor" was introduced by geophysicist Robert S. Dietz in 1961. [2] According to Hess, seafloor was created at mid-oceanic ridges by the convection of the Earth's mantle, pushing and spreading the older crust away from the ridge. [3]
Within the trough is a slowly spreading north–south ridge which may be the result of an offset or gap of approximately 420 kilometres (260 mi) along the main fault trace. The Cayman spreading ridge shows a long-term opening rate of 11–12 mm/yr. [4] The eastern section of the trough has been named the Gonâve Microplate.
A propagating rift is a seafloor feature associated with spreading centers at mid-ocean ridges and back-arc basins. [1] They are more commonly observed on faster rate spreading centers (50 mm/year or more). [2] These features are formed by the lengthening of one spreading segment at the expense of an offset neighboring spreading segment. [3]
Correlation of the anomalies to the history of Earth's magnetic field reversals allowed the age of the seafloor to be estimated. [22] This connection was interpreted as the spreading of the seafloor from the ridge crests. [23] [22] Linking spreading centers and transform faults to a common cause helped to develop the concept of plate tectonics ...
DSDP provided crucial data to support the seafloor spreading hypothesis and helped to prove the theory of plate tectonics. DSDP was the first of three international scientific ocean drilling programs that have operated over more than 40 years.
Harry Hess taught for one year (1932–1933) at Rutgers University in New Jersey and spent a year as a research associate at the Geophysical Laboratory of Washington, D. C., before joining the faculty of Princeton University in 1934. Hess remained at Princeton for the rest of his career and served as Geology Department Chairman from 1950 to 1966.
Robert Sinclair Dietz (September 14, 1914 – May 19, 1995) was a scientist with the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.Dietz, born in Westfield, New Jersey, [1] was a marine geologist, geophysicist and oceanographer who conducted pioneering research along with Harry Hammond Hess concerning seafloor spreading, published as early as 1960–1961.