Image: Tiny crystals called zircons are used to date oceanic crust. A newly developed method that detects tiny bits of zircon in rock reliably predicts the age of ocean crust more than 99 percent of ...

In 1981, scientists discovered one of the thinnest portions of the Earth’s crust — a 1-mile (1.6 kilometers) thick, earthquake-prone spot under the Atlantic Ocean where the American and African ...

Almost 2,000 earthquakes rocked a spot off the coast of Canada in a single day earlier this month, which could be a sign that new oceanic crust is about to be birthed via a deep sea magmatic rupture.

The oceanic crust is generated at mid-ocean ridges through the ascent, storage and extraction of mantle-derived melts. As primitive magma ascends, it forms vertically extensive crystal mush zones in ...

In Geology 101, Earth's interior is divided into neat layers, like a sugar-coated jawbreaker. But it turns out that parts of the planet's middle layer might be more like peanuts in a sea of caramel.

An international research team has discovered that a subduction zone's age affects the ability for it to recycle water between the Earth's surface and its inner layers. The more mature the subduction ...

Earth's middle layer is chunky, like peanuts in a sea of caramel. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Breaking space news, the latest ...