Tag Archive for 'Tectonic plate'

Artist’s impression of a volcano erupting on Venus. Image credit: ESA / AOES Medialab.

Planetary Scientists Find New Evidence for Tectonic Activity on Venus

May 20, 2025 by News Staff

Venus, Earth’s ‘twin planet,’ presents clear contrasts in terms of surface conditions, atmospheric chemistry, and tectonic state. Understanding the...

A topographic map of the Eridania region of Mars; volcanic structures described by Michalski et al. are classified by morphology and morphometrics. Image credit: Michalski et al., doi: 10.1038/s41550-023-02191-7.

Early Mars was Tectonically and Volcanically Active, Study Suggests

Feb 12, 2024 by News Staff

The relatively well-preserved ancient crust of Mars provides a natural window into early planetary evolution not available on Earth. Mars has generally...

This composite image, taken by JAXA’s Akatsuki spacecraft, shows Venus. Image credit: JAXA / ISAS / DARTS / Damia Bouic.

Venus May Have Once Had Earth-Like Plate Tectonics

Oct 26, 2023 by News Staff

Venus is the least understood of the terrestrial planets. Despite broad similarities to the Earth in mass and size, Venus has no evidence of plate tectonics...

3D seismic imaging and ocean drilling at the Hikurangi margin reveal a widespread and previously unknown fluid reservoir within the extensively hydrated (up to 47 vol % water) volcanic upper crust of the subducting Hikurangi Plateau large igneous province. Image credit: Gase et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adh0150.

Geoscientists Discover Massive Undersea Water Reservoir Off New Zealand’s Coast

Oct 4, 2023 by News Staff

Revealed by 3D seismic imaging, the newly-discovered water reservoir lies 3.2 km (2 miles) under the ocean floor off the coast of New Zealand, where it...

Pangea Ultima temperature and habitability: (a) mammalian species diversity without the influence of humans; (b) habitable regions (green area) in the Pre-industrial simulation; (c-h) cold month mean temperature (CMMT; degrees Celsius); (c,f) warm month mean temperature (WMMT; degrees Celsius); (d,g) and habitable regions (green area); (e,h) under two end members of our sensitivity analysis: low-pCO2 conditions (280 ppm) Pangea Ultima planetary configuration (in 250 million years); (c-e) and high-pCO2 conditions (1,120 ppm) Pangea Ultima configuration (in 250 million years); (f-h) with global land surface temperature (GLST) (grid-weighted) indicated. Image credit: Farnsworth et al., doi: 10.1038/s41561-023-01259-3.

Climate Extremes Likely to Drive Mass Extinction of Land Mammals in 250 Million Years

Sep 26, 2023 by News Staff

In about 250 million years, all continents will converge to form Earth’s next supercontinent, Pangea Ultima. A natural consequence of the creation...

Boulila et al. highlight a common, correlatable 36-million-year cycle in the diversity of marine genera as well as in tectonic, sea-level, and macrostratigraphic data over the past 250 million years of Earth history. Image credit: James St. John / CC BY 2.0.

36-Million-Year Geological Cycle Drives Marine Biodiversity, Scientists Say

Jul 11, 2023 by News Staff

The evolution of life on Earth has changed dramatically at tens of million-year time scales. However, the causal mechanisms of these changes remain unclear....

An artistic conception of the early Earth. Image credit: Simone Marchi / NASA.

Study: Plate Tectonics is not a Requirement for Life to Originate on Earth-Like Planet

Jun 15, 2023 by News Staff

Plate tectonics is a fundamental factor in the sustained habitability of Earth, but its time of onset is unknown, with ages ranging from the Hadean to...

Hua et al. discovered a previously unknown layer of partly molten rock in a key region just below the tectonic plates. Image credit: Leonello Calvetti / Dreamstime.

Partially Molten Layer Detected Beneath Earth’s Tectonic Plates

Feb 7, 2023 by News Staff

The newly-detected molten rock layer is located about 150 km (93 miles) from the surface of our planet and is part of the asthenosphere, which sits under...