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Seafloor spreading is a part of the theory of plate
tectonics.
At the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (and other places), material from
the upper mantle rises through the faults between oceanic plates to
form new crust as the plates move away from each other, a phenomenon first observed as
continental drift.
It is still a matter of some debate whether seafloor spreading is driven primarily by the force of rising magma at these
locations, or if it is driven by the force of sinking magma elsewhere and these upwellings are merely a side effect.
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