Early results of the Deep Sea Drilling Project clearly justified the conclusion that ______.
A) the oceans have not always contained most of Earth's water
B) Proterozoic rocks are found only as seamounts in the deepest parts of the ocean basins
C) the youngest sediments were deposited directly on the oldest seafloor basalts
D) the ocean basins are geologically young (

Question

Early results of the Deep Sea Drilling Project clearly justified the conclusion that ______.
A) the oceans have not always contained most of Earth's water
B) Proterozoic rocks are found only as seamounts in the deepest parts of the ocean basins
C) the youngest sediments were deposited directly on the oldest seafloor basalts
D) the ocean basins are geologically young (<Cretaceous) and become younger towards the ridge

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Deep Sea Drilling Project provided evidence supporting the theory of plate tectonics, which includes the finding that ocean basins are geologically young (younger than the Cretaceous period) and that the age of the ocean floor decreases as one moves closer to the mid-ocean ridges. This is because new oceanic crust is continuously formed at mid-ocean ridges and spreads outward, making the seafloor younger near the ridges and older further away.

Early Results of the Deep Sea Drilling Project Clearly Justified