|
How is the seafloor paved with lava?
The development of ABE, the Autonomous Benthic Explorer, made it possible to fly close enough to the seafloor to measure magnetic intensities of young seafloor lava. Such measurements will give scientists the ability to unravel the convoluted processes by which lava carpets the seafloor. Scientists are investigating whether fresh lava (red) erupts from a central point in the mid-ocean ridge (as depicted above) and cascades downhill to overlay older lava flows (gray), or whether lava erupts from several isolated, outlying magma chambers to create discrete patches of seafloor. Or perhaps both processes occur. [back]
|
|
