ScienceDaily (Nov. 15, 2010) — Earth is constantly manufacturing new crust, spewing molten magma up along undersea ridges at the boundaries of tectonic plates. The process is critical to the planet's metabolism, including the cycle of underwater life and the delicate balance of carbon in the ocean and atmosphere. Now, scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have observed ocean crust forming in an entirely unexpected way -- one that may influence those cycles of life and carbon and, in turn, affect the much-discussed future of the world's climate.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101115174216.htm