New research suggests that Earth's first crust, formed over 4.5 billion years ago, already carried the chemical traits we ...

Scientists have long thought that tectonic plates needed to dive beneath each other to create the chemical fingerprint we see in continents.

Extraction of the continental crust has left the Earth's mantle depleted ... of different source components determines their melting characteristics and the extent to which their isotopic ...

The two types of volcano form in different places and have very different characteristics ... when low viscosity lava develops a hard crust through which lava flows.

During this time, Earth's crust began to break apart, initiating a period of rifting and seafloor spreading. According to researchers, this portion of continental crust, about 19-24 kilometres ...

Our results showed Earth's earliest crust - known as the protocrust - that formed during the Hadean eon, would have a chemical composition identical to that of the modern average continental crust.

Between 61 and 33 million years ago, Earth’s crust fractured, initiating a period of continental rifting and seafloor spreading. Researchers have identified a partially submerged continental ...

These movements have altered the positions and topography of the continents, contributing to the current state of the planet’s crust. While certain regions of the continental crust, known as ...

A map showing seismic speed in Earth’s crust at 125 miles depth across the continental U.S. and portions of Central America and Canada. The North American craton (outlined in black dashes) has a ...