Magnetic Anomaly Stripes On Ocean Floors

Magnetic striping of the sea floor after mid ocean ridges and trenches were discovered more evidence was discovered that helped to support the theory that the continents had moved around.

Magnetic anomaly stripes on ocean floors.

When magma flows out of a mid ocean ridge small magnetic minerals in the magma align themselves to point in the direction of the earth s current magnetic north. Plate tectonics and reversals of the earth s magnetic field are responsible for the magnetic stripes found on the ocean floor. The magnetic variation in successive bands of ocean floor parallel with mid ocean ridges is important evidence supporting the theory of. A marine magnetic anomaly is a variation in strength of earth s magnetic field caused by magnetism in rocks of the ocean floor.

Magnetic stripes and isotopic clocks oceanographic exploration in the 1950s led to a much better understanding of the ocean floor. Mapping of variation over an area is valuable in detecting structures obscured by overlying material. These patterns were unlike any seen for continental rocks. They can be stronger positive or weaker negative than the average total read more.

These two things were the magnetic striping on the ocean floor and the age of seafloor rocks. Marine magnetic anomalies typically represent 1 percent of the total geomagnetic field strength. In geophysics a magnetic anomaly is a local variation in the earth s magnetic field resulting from variations in the chemistry or magnetism of the rocks. Xavier le pichon james r.

Among the new findings was the discovery of zebra stripe like magnetic patterns for the rocks of the ocean floor.