Geoscientists have long been trying to answer the complicated questions of how and why Earth’s continents formed. New research suggests a solution that surprised even the investigators themselves.
unsolved mysteries
Posted inFeatures
The Herky-Jerky Weirdness of Earth’s Magnetic Field
Dented, erratic, and wandering, our field is constantly changing its mind.
Posted inNews
When Did Archaic Humans Control Fire?
A familiar geochemical technique shines a new spotlight on early hominin use of fire.
Posted inNews
The Resurrection Plate Is Dead, Long Live the Resurrection Plate
Using a technique similar to taking a CT scan of Earth, researchers found the possible remnants of a long-debated “missing” tectonic plate.
Posted inNews
On Thin Ice: Tiger Stripes on Enceladus
Saturn’s moon Enceladus boasts fierce tiger stripes around its south pole, a mystery that has long puzzled scientists. New research explores the stripes by examining how the moon’s ice breaks.
Posted inNews
Rethinking Darwin’s Theory of Atoll Formation
Atolls have a long and complex history related to seafloor evolution, and Darwin’s model is only the beginning of the story.
Posted inFeatures
The Bay of Bengal and the Curious Case of the Missing Rift
In a classic detective story, clues from data new and old helped researchers reveal the puzzling chain of tectonic events that followed the Early Cretaceous split between India and Antarctica.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
What Controlled the Growth of the Southern Central Andes?
Flat-slab subduction appears to have played a minor role in the growth of the Southern Central Andes, with evidence for eastward migrating deformation.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Mysterious Engine of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation
Understanding the fundamental physics of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation, a phenomenon that occurs over the Indian and Pacific Oceans, remains a challenge in tropical atmospheric research.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Electron Density near Enceladus Shows Orbital Variation
The electron density peaks well after the activity of the moon’s distinctive south polar ice plume reaches its maximum, but the cause of the lag remains puzzling.