Is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Still Spreading?

At  http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/service/gallery/fact_sheets/earthsci/earth.htm  is found the following quote:

"Continental drift across the Atlantic Ocean, proposed by Wegener, has not been directly verified because there are not enough plate measurements within the Eurasian and North American continents to show that these are in fact part of rigid plates." Emphasis Added  

Below is a quote from: Dietz, Robert S., "In Defense of Drift," The Sciences, vol. 23, Nov.-Dec. 1983, p. 26.  Dietz was Professor of Geology at Arizona State University.

"Meanwhile, since the continents drift as slowly as one's fingernails grow--from one to ten centimeters per year -- even the most precise surveying methods available today have not yet detected drift."  Emphasis Added

The page below claims that the movement across the North American Portion of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has been measured; however, nothing is said about the South American (lower) portion.  Perhaps that's because it's moving in the wrong direction!!! 

See http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/skyrslur/contgps/node22.html  See Conclusion #4: "Velocities are determined..."  

Note: To "navigate" to this page you may have to Press the "Next" Button at the top left side of the page (about 8 times).

To see for yourself that the whole South American Portion of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge appears to be moving in the wrong direction, check out the following Pages, and note that directions that the arrows are pointing:

http://core2.gsfc.nasa.gov/dtam/images/vlbi.gif
Note: To expand the image, wait till the page loads and click on the small square at the lower right.

http://core2.gsfc.nasa.gov/dtam/dtam
This shows a large map, of the supposed movements across the ridge.  However the South American / African half does NOT agree with the page above -- which shows that S. America is moving East instead of West.

http://bowie.gsfc.nasa.gov/926/slrtecto.htm
Scroll Down on this page and click on South America and see that the arrows are pointing either East or North -- as opposed to West (as they should be if the standard theory is correct).

See also: Continents in Collision: Pangea Ultima
This one says that Africa is moving North instead of East, and that:

"the Atlantic Ocean will probably widen for a spell before it reverses course and later disappears."

This, of course, contradicts the standard theory that says that it will keep widening.

Note also that there is:
1. No Reference to any Technical Papers.
2. The Maps are clearly inconsistent -- with one showing the spread across the whole ridge, and the
    other showing arrows that only "verify" the North American Half.
3. A Very Clear arrow at the Bottom of S. America that is Pointing East, when it "should" (according
    to what we have been told to believe) be pointing West.
4. The last Paper says that the Ridge is probably going to reverse itself and come back together.

See also: http://www.platetectonics.com/oceanfloors/africa.asp Where we are told that:

"Africa and South America Split 20 Million Years Ago"

"In the late 18th century Benjamin Franklin hypothesized that Africa [right] and South America [left] were once joined. We now know that he was right. Approximately 20 million years ago these two continents were one. Then a giant rift, or separation, developed between them. As the two land masses separated, the surrounding water rushed in to fill the gap between them, and the Atlantic Ocean was born. They've been drifting apart about 5 centimeters per year - for the past 20 million years!-as the Atlantic continues to widen.   
What began as a small crack in the Earth's crust is now the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a giant undersea mountain range. As magma rises to escape along this ridge new crust is formed, sea-floors spread, and continents drift around the globe."

This means that South America and Africa took only 20 million years to separate (and are now moving back together), while North America and Europe took 200 million years -- or so we have been told (to believe).

Taken together, the data just doesn't seem to Fit.

Copyright,  2004; 2005  Randy S. Berg;  No part of this paper may be reproduced, used, or sold for profit without the
express written consent of the author.  Copies may be distributed freely for educational purposes only.

See also these Articles and Book Chapters by Michael J.Oard,  John R. Baumgardner,
Stuart E. Nevins, and  Dr. Walt Brown.   See also What about continental drift? 

Continental Drift   Home