In those zones, slabs of oceanic crust plunge into the mantle, creating distinct seismic signatures. Related Stories Scientists discover tectonic 'mega-plate' that disappeared 20 million years ago ...

Due to the radiative thermal conductivity of the mineral olivine, only oceanic plates over 60 million years old and subducting at more than 10 centimeters per year remain sufficiently cold to ...

Tungsten (W), a hard, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant metal, is indispensable to modern high-tech industries—from ...

New simulations reveal that an ancient ocean of magma located above the Earth's core continues to shape the planet's ...

New research reveals that only the oldest and fastest-sinking oceanic plates can transport water deep into Earth’s mantle, ...

For millions of years, Earth’s moving plates have sculpted continents, carved oceans, and built massive mountain ranges. Yet some of these giant structures vanished deep into the mantle, hidden ...

Nov. 11, 2021 — Geophysicists can use a new model to explain the behavior of a tectonic plate sinking into a subduction zone in the Earth's mantle: the plate becomes weak and thus more ...