I showed up to the interview dressed to the nines, post double shot latte, and mentally prepped only to be ushered to a hallway lined with chairs and a dozen other potential applicants already waiting their turn. I knew I needed something to make me stand out if I had any chance of securing the job.
Answer 1: At plate boundaries where sea-floor spreading occurs, magma wells up to fill the space created by the plates that are moving apart. Check out this United States Geologic Survey (USGS) educational animation to see visually how it works:
Just a century ago, the ocean floor was largely unknown. Now we know that the deep oceans have features such as mountains, deep valleys, and vast plains. Many of these are formed by the movement of the tectonic plates that make up Earthâs crust. Far below the oceanâs surface, volcanic mountain chains are rising in mid-ocean zones where plates pull apart. Elsewhere, deep trenches descend in subduction zones where plates collide and one dives below the other. Oceanographers use sonar to map the ocean floor. The research ship directs sound waves at the bottom, and charts the echoes that bounce back to create a detailed map.