Harry Hess and Robert Dietz said this spreading does not make the Earth bigger. As new ocean floor is created, an equal amount is destroyed.
STEVE EMBER: The two scientists said Alfred Wegener was correct. The continents do move as new material from the center of the Earth rises, hardens and pushes older pieces of the Earth away from each other. The continents are moving all the time, although we cannot feel it.
They called their theory "sea floor spreading." The theory explains that as the sea floor spreads, the tectonic plates are pushed and pulled in different directions.
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FAITH LAPIDUS: The idea of plate tectonics explains volcanoes as well as earthquakes. Many of the world's volcanoes are found at the edges of plates, where geologic activity is intense. The large number of volcanoes around the Pacific plate has earned this area the name "Ring of Fire."
Volcanoes are also found in the middle of plates, where there is a well of melted rock. Scientists call these wells "hot spots." A hot spot does not move. However, as the plate moves over it, a line of volcanoes is formed.
The Hawaiian Islands were created in the middle of the Pacific Ocean as the plate moved slowly over a hot spot. This process is continuing, as the plate continues to move.
STEVE EMBER: Volcanoes and earthquakes are among the most frightening events that nature can produce. More than two hundred thousand people were killed when a strong earthquake struck Haiti last January twelfth. The United States Geological Survey said it was the strongest earthquake to hit Haiti in a century.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25