Emerging evidence suggests that plate tectonics, or the recycling of Earth's crust, may have begun much earlier than ...

With unprecedented clarity, scientists have directly observed a subduction zone—the collision point where one tectonic plate ...

In a new study, a team of researchers suggests that 4 billion years ago, plate tectonics likely looked closer to what we experience today than previously thought. The team published its findings in ...

Evidence has been found that a subduction event, the driver of plate tectonics, occurred exceptionally early in Earth’s formation, contradicting existing models. To explain how this occurred, ...

For millions of years, Earth’s moving plates have sculpted continents, carved oceans, and built massive mountain ranges. Yet some of these giant structures vanished deep into the mantle, hidden from ...

Aside from being a delight to watch, flight in birds is regarded by many cultures as a symbol of freedom, and a source of ...

The first direct evidence of how and when tectonic plates move into the deepest reaches of the Earth is published in Nature today. Scientists hope their description of how plates collide with one ...

A plume of molten rock rising from the depths of the Earth in heartbeat-like pulses is slowly tearing Africa apart—and will one day create a new ocean. This is the conclusion of an international team ...