Tag Archives: Continents

When we look at maps of the world, landmasses seem to be well distributed. Sure, there is more water than landmasses, but they are all spread out. Well, not really. If you grab a globe and turn it towards the Pacific Ocean, you can angle it in a way that the only thing you can see is water. On the …

1.5 Million km² Buried by Magma: Colossal Plumes May Rewrite Earth’s Future Continents Fancy a science article with a side of science fiction? Great news: you’re in the right place. Here, we aren’t just gazing into the crust of the Earth—we’re peering into the planetary future and seeing dreams (and nightmares) erupt alongside volcanoes. Buckle up: the real monsters under …

IN A NUTSHELL 🗺️ New research reveals Earth’s continents began forming billions of years earlier than previously believed. 🔬 Scientists used ancient crystal chemistry and advanced geodynamic models to uncover these insights. 🌋 The study highlights early tectonic activity, including episodic subduction driven by mantle plumes. 🌍 Early formation of continental crust impacts our understanding of Earth’s climate and the …

Earth may have started recycling its crust and forming continents far earlier than many scientists expected. A new study links chemical clues inside ancient crystals to short, intense bursts of early subduction and rapid crust growth. The team analyzed tiny pockets of ancient magma sealed inside green olivine crystals and paired the chemistry with computer models of early Earth. The …

A recently published study in Geology by Thomas M. Gernon, Sascha Brune, Thea K. Hincks, and Derek Keir provides new insight into an enormous mantle anomaly—a zone of unusually hot and low-density rock—deep beneath New England. This feature, known as the Northern Appalachian Anomaly (NAA), measures approximately 400 kilometers across and lies about 200 kilometers below the Earth’s surface, within …

Australia is on an inevitable path toward a collision with Asia, and the pace of this continental drift is happening faster than many might expect. According to Curtin University’s Professor Zheng-Xiang Li, this tectonic movement is not merely a far-off, theoretical phenomenon; it is already underway and will have a profound impact on the planet’s geography, ecosystems, and even technological …

Motty, a unique elephant hybrid, remains one of the most fascinating and tragic stories in the animal kingdom. Known as the “world’s rarest elephant,” Motty was the only confirmed hybrid between an African elephant (Loxodonta africana) and an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). This incredibly rare phenomenon occurred at Chester Zoo in the UK in 1978. His story was immortalized in …