The amount of sediments in the Pacific Ocean is about 600 meters or less and about 500 to 1000 meters thick in the Atlantic Ocean. If the same amount of sediment is entering into both oceans at the same rate, why would the amount of sediment in the Pacific Ocean be thinner than that in the Atlantic Ocean?

Question

Johnathan Randall

Geography

11 June, 07:36

The amount of sediments in the Pacific Ocean is about 600 meters or less and about 500 to 1000 meters thick in the Atlantic Ocean. If the same amount of sediment is entering into both oceans at the same rate, why would the amount of sediment in the Pacific Ocean be thinner than that in the Atlantic Ocean?

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Bernard Cook · Answer 1

The amount of sediment in the Pacific Ocean is thinner than that in the Atlantic Ocean mainly because after continental rifting and collision, many sediments accumulated in the Atlantic Ocean basins. This phenomenon did not occur in the Pacific Ocean.