Researchers witness birth of Earth's new oceanic crust in Indian Ocean

For the first time in history, researchers witnessed birth of a new section of Earth's oceanic crust. The geological event occurred in April 2024 and was recorded by more than 20 ocean-monitoring stations along a 100-km stretch of Indian Ocean. In 16 days, the crust spread nearly 2 metres apart, releasing 160 million cubic metres of lava onto the seafloor.