Sea Floor Spreading Observed!

A correspondent has sent me THIS LINK. It records what people thought must be happening but which no one had actually measured! 

It is the result of the installation of measuring equipment on the axis of the Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR) - a mid Ocean ridge - and on the Amsterdam transform fault (TF). Both are not very far from Amsterdam Island. This is one of the most inaccessible places on Earth. It is about mid way between Western Australia and South Africa. To the south is Antarctica.

The article goes into a vast amount of detail which I will not attempt to interpret. Google Gemini was asked to rewrite the abstract in easy to understand language and came up with the following:-

Scientists have captured a rare, up-close look at the ocean floor literally tearing itself apart and forming new crust.

Because mid-ocean ridges (underwater mountain ranges where tectonic plates pull apart) are buried deep underwater, they are incredibly hard to monitor. However, researchers had equipment perfectly placed in the Indian Ocean to catch a massive "rifting event" right as it started on April 26, 2024.

Here is what happened over the span of about 16 days:

• The Ground Opened Up: An underground magma chamber deflated, sending channels of liquid rock (called dykes) bursting sideways through the ridge.

• The Sea Floor Shifted: The valley floor sank by 4 meters (about 13 feet) and widened by more than a meter.

• A Massive Eruption occurred: The magma broke through the surface, spilling roughly 160 million cubic meters of lava onto the ocean floor.

• Silent Earthquakes Cleared a Mystery: Tectonic plates usually move with a lot of shaking, but this event triggered a lot of "aseismic slip"—meaning the ground slid smoothly without causing measurable earthquakes.

Why this matters: Scientists have always wondered why mid-ocean ridges have far fewer earthquakes than expected. This discovery suggests that underground magma movements actually lubricate the faults, letting the tectonic plates slide past each other quietly and smoothly rather than violently snapping.