Forming New Ocean Crust at a Fast Spreading Mid-Ocean Ridge

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This animation shows a hypothetical sequence of how mid-ocean ridge lava flows can erupt on the seafloor and create new ocean crust at a fast spreading mid-ocean ridge (MOR). It is based on detailed, near-bottom sidescan and multibeam bathymetry collected using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and numerous observations of volcanic features made using the Alvin submersible at the East Pacific Rise crest near 9°50'N in the Pacific Ocean about 300 miles west of the Mexican coastline.

Related Oceanus Magazine feature: Paving the Seafloor—Brick by Brick

(Courtesy Dan Fornari, Maurice Tivey, Jack Cook and Tim Silva, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)