The formation of a sixth ocean, and the tectonic shifts that lie ahead, are proof that Earth is a dynamic, ever-evolving ...

Videos circulating on social media show an 18-foot wall of water advancing on the horizon. The tremendous wave builds to a crescendo when it barrels ashore, submerging buildings already toppled by the ...

Scientists studying rocks in South Africa report evidence for the earliest known earthquake triggered by plate tectonics. The temblor struck more than 3 billion years ago. The rocks preserve telltale ...

Computer simulations suggest that a collision with another planetary object early in Earth’s history may have provided the heat to set off plate tectonics. By Lucas Joel Some 4.5 billion years ago, ...

Vast amounts of sediment eroded from Earth’s continents were necessary to lubricate the wheel of plate tectonics, scientists propose. The idea offers a new angle on long-standing riddles about the ...

Earth's surface is a turbulent place. Mountains rise, continents merge and split, and earthquakes shake the ground. All of these processes result from plate tectonics, the movement of enormous chunks ...

It's the first time Earth's geologic record — information found inside rocks — has been used to create an animation of this kind. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate ...

Make sure you pencil this into your long-term calendar, estimates place the death of plate tectonics here on Earth at 1.45 billion years from now. The existence of plate tectonics on Earth makes it ...

A handful of ancient zircon crystals found in South Africa hold the oldest evidence of subduction, a key element of plate tectonics, according to a new study published in the open access journal AGU ...