by looking at patterns in the rocks, including magnetic patterns, and by looking at the geomagnetic reversal time scale. New material is constantly being pushed up from deep below the surface to form the ridge. The ridge is like a mountain growing in the sea.
Explanation:
The age pattern is symmetric. Youngest ages are at the middle of the pattern (on the oceanic ridges) and the seafloor grows older moving outwards to each side of the middle.
In this case it's overexploitation of natural resources, wich is a big problem nowadays. Using resources excessively results in damaged resources, that's called overexploitation.
