How do the ages of rocks on the sea floor support the theory of sea floor spreading?
The ages of the rocks on the sea floor support the theory of seafloor spreading because studies of the sea floor done by geologists and scientists have shown that the oceanic crust found farther away from a ridge is older than oceanic crust found closer to the ridge. After collecting rock samples from the sea floor, scientists have hypothesized that magma is forced upward at a ridge by convection currents. The sea floor is then carried away by convection currents and later cools. This cooler sea floor sinks back into the mantle. The youngest aged of oceanic crust is located at the spreading ridges. The ages will get older as you move away from the ocean ridges, until you reach a subduction zone where the old crust is retracts back into the mantle of Earth.
