Seafloor Spreading

Sea floor spreading is one part of the theory of plate tectonics. I find this process interesting because it is responsible for creating our oceans and also is one of the ways that our Earth reproduces rock material in the lithosphere. I often think about the many interconnected processes that have helped to shape our world to what it is today. Seafloor spreading also allows us to predict what or planet will look like in many years to come, as well as allowing us to predict natural hazards.

The theory of seafloor spreading was hypothesized in 1960 by Harry Hess who was a professor at Princeton University. Though Alfred Wegener originally thought of the idea of continental drift, Harry Hess was able to find proof of the spreading mid-Atlantic ridge during World War II. Hess was captain of the USS Cape Johnson which was a trans-Atlantic transport ship that was equipped with Sonar, which at the time was a relatively new technology. Though the sonar was used to find hidden submarines, Hess was able to collect data from the seafloor and upon analyzing the information, noticed that there was a magnetic anomaly that showed identical patterns on either side of the middle of the ocean (mid-Atlantic ridge). He hypothesized that the Ocean was spreading, and used these magnetic anomalies as proof. On either side of the ridge, the seafloor's magnetic orientation changed over time, and produced an obvious pattern (each side of the ridge had identical magnetic properties). This phenomenon was caused by the magnetic north pole changing over time from our geographic north and south poles, and hence the orientation of the isotopes in the rock are altered. He produced his results in a paper titles "History of Ocean Basins" which was released in 1962. For a long while after, this paper was the single most referenced work in solid-earth geophysics (Wikipedia).

I believe that in science, the huge leaps and discoveries are taken by researchers who are willing study topics different from the normal idea and way of thinking to go out on a limb and try and prove a theory that, at the time, may see impossible. At the time, Hess was not as well received by some of the scientific community, but over time, his theories have been monumental in geology. The same goes for Alfred Wegener; after releasing his paper on Continental Drift, it was not well received, and he had many critics. For one, Wegener was not even a geologist; he was a meteorologist which made it difficult for leading geologist to trust his theory. I think that these men and women are greatly responsible for the great leaps we have taken in science. This reminds me of a quote from my favorite movie, A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe, when he said "Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever matter." It seems that the scientists that are not only trying to build on what other scientists have discovered in the past, but come up with truly original ideas, are the ones that will be remembered long after they pass away.