Mathilde Cannat on Mid-Ocean Ridges
Oceanic plates are continually manufactured at mid-ocean spreading ridges. \xa0But exactly what processes go on at these ridges? \xa0It turns out that it depends on what type of ridge it is\u2014fast-spreading or slow-spreading. \xa0And that our traditional view of vanishingly thin plate thickness at ridge axes is inaccurate. \xa0Mathilde Cannat describes our modern understanding of mid-ocean ridges and the observations that led us there.\nMathilde Cannat is a research director at the Institut de Physique du Globe of Paris. Her research on mid-ocean ridges has fundamentally changed our understanding of the geological processes that create new oceanic crust at these ridges.\nFor podcast illustrations and more about Geology Bites, go to geologybites.com.