Ocean Crust: The Oceanic Crust

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OCEANIC CRUST Introduction: Oceanic crust is the outermost layer of Earth above the mantle. It is the part of the Earth’s crust which makes up the Ocean Floor. It is basically the uppermost layer of the oceanic portion of a tectonic plate and lies on top of the solidified and uppermost layer of the mantle. Division: It can be partitioned into two types: • Continental crust • Oceanic crust Composition: The oceanic crust is more dense, thin and simpler in structure as compared to the continental crust. It is 6-9 kilometers thick and is made up of mainly mafic rocks or sima which is rich in iron and magnesium. The crust is the consequence of exploded mantle material originating from below the plate, cooled and in most cases, chemically changed by the seawater. These explosions occur typically at mid-ocean ridges. Oceanic crust …show more content…

The Eastern Mediterranean Crust This Oldest Oceanic Crust is believed to be about 340 million years old and is found in the Herodotus Basin, a stretch of the eastern Mediterranean Sea between Cyprus, Crete, and Egypt. This crust is a region of 23,000 square mile and is around 100 million years older than any other oceanic crust yet discovered making it the oldest oceanic crust. Discovery and the origin A geologist at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel named Dr. Roi Granot, discovered this Oldest Oceanic Crust in the Eastern Mediterranean. Conducting a study on this crust was a tough task because it was covered by up to nine miles of thick sediment. But Dr. Granot, along with his team, tried and were successfully able to use magnetic profile of the rock underneath this area of the Mediterranean Sea to estimate its age which came out to be approximately 340 million years old. Tethys

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