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Did you know???
Here are some amazing facts about the seafloor...
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The longest continuous chain of volcanoes is under the sea... |
| Around 20km3 of new oceanic crust is created every year |
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The deepest place in the ocean is in the MarianasTrench in the Pacific - around 11,000m below sea level - that's deeper than Mount Everest is tall! |
| The first hydrothermal vent was discovered in 1977 near the Galapagos Islands |
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Vent worms living around hydrothermal vents have no mouths or stomachs - they rely on chemosynthetic bacteria to supply the energy they need |
| The theory of seafloor spreading wasn't developed until 1962 |
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Seafloor spreading along the Mid Atlantic Ridge means that Iceland gets wider by about 2cm every year |
| Fluid spewing out of hydrothermal vents can reach temperatures of 380ºC |
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It has taken 150 million years for the Atlantic Ocean to reach its present size - pretty good, considering it started as a crack in a continent! |
| The temperature in the centre of the Earth is around 6650ºC |
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