Question

Choose the best answer. Magma forms at mid-ocean ridges because:

a Volatiles (sea water) is added to hot mantle rocks, lowering their melting temperature.

b Heat is generated by friction along normal faults caused by extension of lithosphere.

c The lithosphere is thinned at divergent boundaries, allowing hot mantle rocks to melt due to decompression.

d The Earth is hotter at divergent boundaries.

Answer 1

The best answer for the given question out of the four options provided is

option C.

Step-by-step explanation:

Decompression melting also known as adiabatic melting of the mantle is most commonly linked with divergent boundaries of the plate, which serves as the point of the 2 tectonic plates from one another along a mid ocean ridges leading to the generation of magma.

Therefore, thinning of Lithosphere at diverging boundaries , allows hot mantle rocks to melt as a result of decompression.