The history of Earth's continents might be different from what we first thought. The most popular theory of how the continents formed billions of years ago may not be right, according to a paper in ...

Oceanic island hotspots — Hawaii and Iceland — are the final destinations of elemental isotopes from the beginnings of Earth, in concentrations found nowhere else on Earth’s crust. Until now, it was ...

“To see a world in a grain of sand,” the opening sentence of the poem by William Blake, is an oft-used phrase that also captures some of what geologists do. We observe the composition of mineral ...

A spot in eastern Africa called the Afar Triangle marks the meeting point of three rift zones—lines where Earth’s crust is being rent apart. Researchers haven’t been sure exactly what drives this ...

Continental clues: 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 ...

Earth’s deep interior may hold water equal to today’s oceans, challenging long-held views of how the planet became habitable.

The Earth’s Moon had a rough start in life. Formed from a chunk of the Earth that was lopped off during a planetary collision, it spent its early years covered by a roiling global ocean of molten ...

Memorizing seven continents feels settled, like learning the alphabet. A new study argues the ground rules are less tidy.

Chris Kirkland receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Phil Sutton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from ...