It is also said that he thought that the rectangular chambers looked like the cells in some monasteries. Physically cells always have a boundary membrane, a little like a polythene bag encloses contents within it. Inside the space limited by the membrane there is an remarkable chemical processing unit.
Iceland is a place where, because of large amounts of lava extrusion, the ocean floor is, in effect, above sea level, making it easy to study ocean floor spreading. You can affix strain gauges on many parts of the spreading ridge. 6 people found this useful.
New oceanic crust is constantly being made. Hot molten material is constantly rising up in places we call oceanic ridges. Iceland is a special case as the ridge divides the island in half. An oceanic ridge has material rising up from inside the Earth and pushing plates apart. As the plates get pushed apart new oceanic crust is formed.