Young seabed at the active spreading center of an ocean, boundary between diverging plates; often called a mid-ocean ridge, though less than 60% of the length exists at mid-ocean.

Study for the IB Marine Science Standard Level Exam. Prepare with interactive quizzes and in-depth explanations. Use our resources to excel in your marine science knowledge!

Multiple Choice

Young seabed at the active spreading center of an ocean, boundary between diverging plates; often called a mid-ocean ridge, though less than 60% of the length exists at mid-ocean.

At divergent plate boundaries, magma rises and creates new oceanic crust, pushing the plates apart. This process builds an underwater mountain range known as an oceanic ridge, or mid-ocean ridge, where the seabed is youngest because new crust forms there. As you move away from the ridge, the crust gets progressively older, which is why the spreading center is associated with the freshest seabed.

This feature is not a passive margin, which is a tectonically quiet edge of a continent; nor is it a seamount, which is an isolated underwater volcano; nor a shelf break, which marks the edge of the continental shelf.

Young seabed at the active spreading center of an ocean, boundary between diverging plates; often called a mid-ocean ridge, though less than 60% of the length exists at mid-ocean.

Study for the IB Marine Science Standard Level Exam. Prepare with interactive quizzes and in-depth explanations. Use our resources to excel in your marine science knowledge!

Young seabed at the active spreading center of an ocean, boundary between diverging plates; often called a mid-ocean ridge, though less than 60% of the length exists at mid-ocean.

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