Earth might not have seven continents after all. From an early age, most of us are taught to recognize seven continents: ...

Oceanic plateau: A comparatively flat area of the seabed. 4. Slab: refers to the subducted plate. 5. Hydrous mineral: Minerals that contain OH groups in their crystal structure. 6.

Made of basalt, Tamu Massif is the oldest and largest feature of an oceanic plateau called the Shatsky Rise in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The total area of the rise is similar to Japan or ...

How did the continents form? Although to a certain extent this remains an open question, the oceanic plateau of the Kerguelen Islands may well provide part of the answer, according to a French ...

Fifty million years ago, Bremerton, Washington, may have looked a lot like Iceland: hot new land atop an oceanic spreading center. That land was part of the Siletzia terrane, a thick wedge of ...

Although everyone learns that the Earth is neatly divided into seven continents (at least for now), a scientist from the University of Derby recently suggested that things may not be so clear cut.

Siletzia has been recognized and studied for decades (by Ray Wells at the USGS, GSA Annual meeting abstract 321-2, and many others). The wedge of oceanic material that forms this terrane is thick ...