Elements of a newly discovered process in plate tectonics include a mass (rock slab weight), a pulley (trench), a dashpot (microcontinent), and a string (oceanic plate) that connects these elements to each other. In the initial state, the microcontinent drifts towards the subduction zone (Figure a). The microcontinent then extends during its journey to the subduction trench owing to the tensional force applied by the pull of the rock slab pull across the subduction zone (Figure b). Finally, the microcontinent accretes to the overriding plate and resists subduction due to its low density, causing the down-going slab to break off (Figure c). Credit: Erkan Gün/University of Toronto

Discovery of new geologic process calls for changes to plate tectonic...

Karen Heeter overlooks Yellowstone from Republic Pass on a tree coring excursion in July 2018. Credit: Grant L. Harley

Yellowstone National Park is hotter than ever

This study site was used by researchers to examine a portion of the Oman–United Arab Emirates ophiolite’s metamorphic sole. Credit: Tyler Ambrose

A closer look at the creation of a metamorphic sole

Early lineages of mammal like this large Gobiconodon from Mongolia, outcompeted the ancestors of modern mammals in the time of dinosaurs. Credit: Corbin Rainbolt

Mammals in the time of dinosaurs held each other back

A cross-section of an 18.5 million-year-old fossil of Ampelorhiza heteroxylon. Credit: Nathan Jud/Provided

18.5 million year old vine fossil identified as new species

The Earth has a layered internal structure with the crust, upper mantle, mantle transition zone, lower mantle, outer core, and inner core from the surface to the center. In the Earth’s formation stage at approximately 4.6 billion years ago, the heavy metal components were separated from silicates and sank in the magma ocean, and a core formed at the center of the Earth. In this core-mantle separation process, partitioning of noble gases between the core and mantle occurred. Credit: Taku Tsuchiya, Ehime University

A deep reservoir of primordial helium in the Earth

Hesperornis image provided by the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. (Photo: Robert Lorenz)Hesperornis image provided by the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. (Photo: Robert Lorenz)

What can a dinosaur’s inner ear tell us? Just listen

The last common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans represents the starting point of human and chimpanzee evolution. Fossil apes play an essential role when it comes to reconstructing the nature of our ape ancestry. Printed with permission from © Christopher M. Smith

Most human origins stories are not compatible with known fossils

An enhanced image of Bicellum showing an outer wall of sausage-shaped cells enclosing an inner cell mass. Credit: Boston College

Microfossil found in Scottish Highlands could be a new insight into...

Researchers also want to encourage the locals to develop practical evacuation plans to help them feel less pessimistic about their survival odds. Credit: Katsushika Hokusai

Previously unrecognized tsunami hazard identified in coastal cities

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