Artist impression of two types of lithospheric drip. One type produces thickening and uplift of Earth’s crust, while the other results in the formation of a basin at the surface without horizontal ...

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, ...

Cratons are the most ancient, stable pieces of tectonic plates, but even these geological formations can change over time. A new study details how the North American plate is “dripping” into the ...

Due to the radiative thermal conductivity of the mineral olivine, only oceanic plates over 60 million years old and subducting at more than 10 centimeters per year remain sufficiently cold to ...