Researchers used small zircon crystals to unlock information about magmas and plate tectonic activity in early Earth. The research provides chemical evidence that plate tectonics was most likely ...

The puzzle pieces of Earth’s rocky crust are slowly and steadily moving — a process known as plate tectonics. These dynamic movements helped to create the habitats and climate that fostered the ...

Plate tectonics are the quiet force behind Earth's long story, moving continents and shaping mountains. This video shows how ...

When the plate sinks into the mantle it melts to form magma. The pressure of the magma builds up beneath the Earth's surface. The magma escapes through weaknesses in the rock and rises up through a ...

Scientists have discovered a long hidden plate boundary near the east coast of Africa that dates back about 180 million years ...

New finding contradicts previous assumptions about the role of mobile plate tectonics in the development of life on Earth. Moreover, the data suggests that 'when we're looking for exoplanets that ...

Isotope analysis of gas from geothermal springs in Zambia could show that a new continental rift is forming, scientists say.

Map of the Earth showing tectonic plates. Early Earth likely had no plate tectonics, but a solid outer crust with no tectonic activity covered the entire planet. After being broken up by convection ...

Scientists have discovered a new layer of partly molten rock under the Earth's crust that might help settle a long-standing debate about how tectonic plates move. Researchers had previously identified ...

A groundbreaking study in Science Advances reveals that Earth's tectonic plates are breaking apart under the Cascadia subduction zone. Geologists from Louisiana State University and the Lamont-Doherty ...

Earth's surface is broken up into large plates that rub against each other, causing earthquakes, volcanoes and large mountain ranges. But how unique is our planet's geology? When you purchase through ...