The present solid Earth is actually active, with new plates generating in the mid-ocean ridges and some old plates sinking back into the interior through subduction zones. Subduction is thus a key ...

Subduction zones have recurrently formed on Earth. Previous studies have, however, suggested that they are unlikely to start in the interior of a pristine ocean. Instead, they seem to be more likely ...

Map highlighting the Atlantic subduction zones, the fully developed Lesser Antilles and Scotia arcs on the western side and the incipient Gibraltar arc on the eastern side. From Duarte et al., 2018.

A chain of remote islands and underwater volcanoes between Alaska and Kamchatka has revealed a much older chapter in Earth's tectonic history than previously known. Along the Aleutian Arc, the Pacific ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. David Bressan is a geologist who covers curiosities about Earth. Oct 29, 2025, 03:16pm EDT Nov 01, 2025, 01:11pm EDT For the first ...

The initiation of plate subduction on Earth may occur before 3 billion years ago or even Hadean. Subduction is the core process of plate tectonics, which gradually lead to the co-evolution of ...

Convergent plate boundaries, where one lithospheric plate descends beneath another, drive subduction and ultimately lead to arc-continent collision. In classical subduction settings, the downgoing ...

Several billion-year-old rocks tell the story of the planet’s transition from alien landscape to one of continents, oceans, and ultimately life A new study from scientists at Scripps Institution of ...

Understanding the origins of the Ring of Fire, the most seismically active place on Earth, is famously difficult as geologic evidence is destroyed in the process. Now a new study suggests that ...

Geoscientists have discovered a new process in plate tectonics which shows that tremendous damage occurs to areas of Earth's crust long before it should be geologically altered by known plate-boundary ...

The Atlantic Ocean may begin to shrink, said a new study published in the journal Geology. Oceans are not necessarily a permanent fixture on Earth, as they are able to appear and close due to the work ...

Our planet's lithosphere is broken into several tectonic plates. Their configuration is ever-shifting, as supercontinents are assembled and broken up, and oceans form, grow, and then start to close in ...