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Nature 406, 578-579 (10 August 2000) | doi:10.1038/35020671

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Seafloor spreading: Portrait of a magma chamber

Robert S. Detrick

About 20 km3 of new ocean crust is formed each year along the spreading centres of the global mid-ocean-ridge system. These spreading centres are usually not simple, linear structures, but are broken into offset and sometimes overlapping segments.