Continental and oceanic plates all fit together to form the outer crust of the planet. Eight major plates are named on the diagram below. Heat from the core makes magma in the mantle rise towards ...

It has created the oceanic and, ultimately, the continental crust, as well as the Earth's atmosphere. Partial melting distributes elements unevenly between these global reservoirs and leaves a ...

Formation of continental and oceanic crust depletes the convecting mantle in certain elements, but some of these elements are returned to the mantle when the oceanic lithosphere sinks at ...

A section of the upper mantle and crust under the Sierra Nevada mountains is peeling away, in a process that may mimic how the continents were formed.

Deep trenches appear at these boundaries, caused by the oceanic plate bending downward into the Earth. Deep below the Earth's surface, subduction causes partial melting of both the ocean crust and ...

Scientists discovered a hidden process where Earth's crust peels away and sinks, reshaping continents over millions of years, revealing Earth's slow evolution.

While certain regions of the continental crust, known as cratons ... can break apart due to specific forms of subduction near oceanic plates. This ongoing process reveals how continents have ...

A long-lost oceanic plate is diving deep into the mantle, dragging down the crust above, researchers say. However, the plate is also tearing apart below the Zagros Mountains in Iraq as it plunges ...