Question

What causes changes to the seafloor?

Answer 1

Hint: The seabed is the bottom of the ocean, no matter how deep it is all floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. It is composed of several layers.

Complete answer:
The changes that occur at the seafloor are greatly contributed by the movement of the earth’s tectonic plates. This can also cause the magma to be profusely released into the water and thus to push the magma outward, the seafloor happens to move and as a result the seafloor experiences changes.This change happens in steps such as spreading first, then subduction happens and this causes the change.

The Mid-Atlantic ridge and the East-Pacific rise are examples of mid-ocean ridges where seafloor spreading occurs. At the intersection of two tectonic plates, mid-ocean ridges emerge. They are a kind of divergent boundary, which means the plates are moving apart. When more molten rock is brought up from inside the earth, magma is drawn up to the crust and as it cools, it is slowly pushed away on either side, contributing to the plate.

Subduction also occurs at the edges of tectonic plates, where oceanic crust meets continental crust on one side. This is a convergent line (the last one is a transform boundary). The edge of the thinner, stronger oceanic crust gets trapped under the lighter, thicker continental crust as the seafloor spreads, forcing it down into the mantle, where it melts back into magma. When new fragments are created as a result of seafloor spreading, the plate continues to be forced into the earth.

So finally we can say that the repeated seafloor spreading and unending subduction are the causes of seafloor change.

Note: Subduction and spreading of the seafloor are also ongoing processes. They are the primary contributors to continental drift. We must remember that seafloor spreading rates increased by around twenty percent during the early Cenozoic period and have decreased by twelve percent since then which is better. As far as we know, these processes have always existed and will continue until the end of time.