Significantly, that chronology decouples plate tectonics from the origin of life on Earth: evidence of the earliest single-celled organisms dates back more than 3.6 billion years.

Tectonic plates bend as they sink into the mantle at so-called subduction zones, becoming segmented 'like a slinky snake', a study has concluded.

The book describes how the head of the geology department at the University of Toronto threatened to dismiss him after a speech explaining plate tectonics. “You can’t,” Tuzo replied.

Plate tectonics allows heat from Earth's interior to escape to the surface, forming continents and other geological features necessary for life to emerge. Accordingly, "there has been the ...

It’s right there in the name: “plate tectonics.” Geology’s organizing theory hinges on plates—thin, interlocking pieces of Earth’s rocky skin. Plates’ movements explain earthquakes ...

How many tectonic plates are there? The answer to the total number of tectonic plates is a matter of who you ask in the field of geology. One thing that scientists can agree on is that there are ...

The Earth’s crust is made of rock that is very hard and brittle at the small scale and near the surface. But over very large ...

Plate tectonics explains continental drift, seafloor spreading, and why California has so many earthquakes. The Earth's shifting plates also created an ideal environment for life itself to evolve ...

Plate tectonics are 3.6 billion years old, oldest minerals on Earth reveal By Laura Geggel published 17 May 21 ...

Latest about plate tectonics Earth tipped on its side (and back again) in 'cosmic yo-yo' 84 million years ago By Harry Baker published 26 October 21 ...