A study of the East African Rift reveals that ancient heating and dehydration can strengthen continental crust, reshaping how and where continents break apart.

Picture the Earth’s crust and you most probably think of dense, dry rock. You don’t imagine a goey, honey-like substance trickling down into the planet’s deep underbelly. And yet, new research has ...

Modern continental rocks carry chemical signatures from the very start of our planet's history, challenging current theories about plate tectonics. Researchers have made a new discovery that changes ...

The Earth’s crust is disappearing right beneath our feet – and most people don’t even realise it. Now, if you’re a geologist, or got a keen interest in how the Earth is put together, then this ...

New research reveals that Earth’s continents owe their stability to searing heat deep in the planet’s crust. At more than 900°C, radioactive elements shifted upward, cooling and strengthening the ...

Reservoirs of hydrogen gas that form naturally in Earth's crust could help humans decarbonize. The challenge now is finding these accumulations and working out how best to mine them, experts say. When ...

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. When you purchase through links on our site, we ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Seismologist ...

Billions of years ago, Earth was an uninhabitable rock covered in magma. Scientists are still working to decipher the tale of how it transformed into a blue and green orb teeming with life. However, ...