Answer to Question 1
Answer: Isostasy explains why ocean depth correlates with seafloor age: The older the lithosphere, the greater its density, and the lower its surface elevation. Sea-level changes are explained either by changing the volume of seawater or by changing the size of ocean basins that contain the water. Plate tectonics affects global sea level through changes in oceanic lithosphere age. When the global average lithosphere age decreases, the average seafloor elevations increases. This causes sea level to rise so that seawater floods onto continents.
Answer to Question 2
Answer: the material in the center, directly above the spreading ridges