Now a North American team of scientists has documented for the
first time a new phenomenon the creation of a void in the
seafloor that draws in rather than expels surrounding seawater.
They report their discovery in the July 15 issue of the journal
Nature. Oregon State University oceanographer Robert Dziak said
the discovery is important because it adds a new wrinkle to
scientific understanding of seafloor spreading, the fundamental
process of plate tectonics and the creation of ocean crust.
Dziak has a dual appointment with the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental
Laboratory. "Just when you think you're beginning to understand
how the process works, there's a new twist," Dziak said. "There
was an episode of seafloor spreading on a portion of the Juan de
Fuca Ridge that was covered with about a hundred meters of
sediment and what usually happens in that case is that lava
erupts onto the ocean floor and hot fluid is expelled into the
water. "In this case, though, it ac