Far beneath the ocean's surface, where mountain belts rise and ancient oceanic crust lies hidden, a long-lost tectonic plate ...

Emerging evidence suggests that plate tectonics, or the recycling of Earth's crust, may have begun much earlier than previously thought — and may be a big reason that our planet harbors life.

Plate tectonics, or the recycling of Earth’s crust, may have begun much earlier than previously thought—and may be a big reason that our planet harbors life. Skip to main content.

The research provides chemical evidence that plate tectonics was most likely occurring more than 4.2 billion years ago when life is thought to have first formed on our planet.

An illustration depicting the formation of TTGs in a two-stage mantle plume-sagduction model.Image credit: Adapted from Zhao, ...

The oldest unambiguous evidence of modern plate tectonics dates to the Neoproterozoic (1 billion to 541 million years ago), Robert Stern, a geoscientist at the University of Texas, Dallas, told ...

Here's What'll Happen When Plate Tectonics Grinds to a Halt. A new study says we may only have another 1.45 billion years to enjoy the dynamic action of Earth’s geologic engine.

Plate tectonics allows heat from Earth's interior to escape to the surface, forming continents and other geological features necessary for life to emerge. Accordingly, ...

A plume of molten rock rising from the depths of the Earth in heartbeat-like pulses is slowly tearing Africa apart—and will ...

Plate tectonics is unique in that the entire surface is divided into shells, or plates that have sharp boundaries. On Earth, these boundaries are known as subduction zones, ...

All the latest science news on plate tectonics from Phys.org. Find the latest news, advancements, and breakthroughs.

In plate tectonics, pancake-like chunks of brittle crust and upper mantle ride on the hotter, more mobile mantle below. New crust forms at midocean ridges, where gaps between separating plates ...