Which process primarily shapes the ocean floor at divergent boundaries?

The process that primarily shapes the ocean floor at divergent boundaries is seafloor spreading. At these boundaries, tectonic plates move away from each other, allowing magma from the mantle to rise up and create new oceanic crust. This process occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where the ocean floor is continuously being formed as the tectonic plates pull apart. As magma cools and solidifies, it forms new lithosphere, effectively widening the ocean basin.

Seafloor spreading is vital for understanding how oceanic crust is generated and how it contributes to the dynamic nature of tectonic activity. This process creates features such as mid-ocean ridges and can also lead to geological phenomena like hydrothermal vent systems. In contrast, while rifting refers to the formation of rift valleys at divergent boundaries and subduction involves one plate being forced under another, neither directly describes the formation of oceanic crust itself. Weathering, on the other hand, relates to surface processes affecting landforms and is not a primary driver of ocean floor formation. Thus, seafloor spreading is accurately recognized as the key process at divergent boundaries.