Constructive Plate Margins
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Constructive Plate Margins
Field briefing: a spreading ocean floor
At a constructive plate margin, two tectonic plates move away from one another. Hot mantle rock rises to fill the space. As it rises, pressure falls and some rock melts to form magma. Magma erupts through cracks, or cools beneath the surface. When it cools and solidifies, it forms new basaltic oceanic crust. Repeated eruptions build an underwater mountain chain called a mid-ocean ridge. In places, such as Iceland, the ridge rises above sea level. The North American and Eurasian plates are separating along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. New crust forms at the ridge and gradually moves outwards, so the Atlantic Ocean is widening. Earthquakes and volcanic activity can occur, but eruptions are often less explosive than at many destructive margins because the magma is usually runny.
Investigate the evidence
Use the briefing for Questions 1–6.
- Two plates move towards each other and one sinks beneath the other.
- Two plates move apart and new crust can form between them.
- Two plates slide past each other without creating or destroying crust.
Apply your understanding
Use your knowledge to interpret the boundary and make a clear scientific explanation.
- Magma
- Basalt
- Mid-ocean ridge
- Common rock formed when ocean-floor lava cools
- Molten rock beneath the Earth’s surface
- Underwater mountain chain at a spreading plate boundary
3 printable pages
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
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