Plate tectonics, the idea that the surface of the Earth is made up of plates that move apart and come back together, has been used to explain the locations of volcanoes and earthquakes since the 1960s ...

A new study of rocks that formed billions of years ago lends fresh insight into how Earth's plate tectonics—the movement of large pieces of Earth's outer shell—evolved over the planet's ...

Plate tectonics is just a phase in a planet’s lifetime between conditions that are too hot or too cold for the planet-churning mechanism, new simulations suggest.

Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth's outer layer is made up of plates, which have moved throughout Earth's history. The theory explains the how and why behind mountains, volcanoes, and ...

Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth’s outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over Earth's mantle.

Earth's unique possession of both abundant internal heat and liquid water facilitates active plate tectonics, a process absent on other terrestrial planets. Mars, smaller than Earth, cooled ...

Earth's alternating plate engine Plate tectonics theory holds that Earth's crust is divided into plates, which move across the underlying mantle at a rate of inches (centimeters) a year.

Modern plate tectonics may have gotten under way as early as 3.2 billion years ago, about 400 million years earlier than scientists thought. That, in turn, suggests that the movement of large ...

Unless you’re a geophysicist, references to plate tectonics likely won’t cut it as a cocktail party pickup line. But astrobiologists might demur, since these days tectonically-driven ...

The Bigger Picture of Plate Movements Understanding lost tectonic plates like Pontus is crucial for reconstructing Earth’s geological past and predicting future tectonic activity.

That means the forces from plate tectonics seem to account for the height of the mountains, without any additional influences.

Scientists have uncovered one of the most exciting geological discoveries of the decade – the long-lost Pontus tectonic plate. This ancient “mega plate,” which once spanned an astonishing 15 ...