The oceanic lithosphere forms at the summit of ocean ridges during seafloor spreading. Still, the formation of ocean basins is complex, influenced by smaller-scale convection, stagnated pieces of the ...

The difference in water content between the lithosphere and the upper layer of Earth’s mantle can explain the observed seismic changes The oceanic lithosphere, which constitutes the top layer ...

The seemingly stable regions of the Earth's continental plates -- the so-called stable cratons -- have suffered repetitive deformation below their crust since their formation in the remote past, ...

(a) Subduction of the reconstructed northern part of the Indian plate during the late Eocene. (b) A piece of subducted Indian lithosphere was detached and then sank into the MTZ seen as fast-velocity ...

Computer models confirm that the African Superplume is responsible for the unusual deformations, as well as rift-parallel seismic anisotropy observed beneath the East African Rift System. Computer ...

An ancient slab of Earth's crust buried deep beneath the Midwest is sucking huge swatches of present-day's North American crust down into the mantle, researchers say. The slab's pull has created giant ...