The Earth's oceanic crust covers an enormous expanse, and is mostly buried beneath a thick layer of mud that cuts it off from the surface world. Scientists now document life deep within the ...

Far beneath the ocean's surface, where mountain belts rise and ancient oceanic crust lies hidden, a long-lost tectonic plate ...

Oceanic crust formation is dynamic after all Date: November 29, 2009 Source: Brown University Summary: Earth scientists have found strong evidence that the geological processes that lead to the ...

The oldest known bit of oceanic crust is sitting at the bottom of the Mediterranean The oldest patch of undisturbed oceanic crust on Earth may lie deep beneath the eastern Mediterranean Sea ...

Oceanic crust and continental crust differ in their composition, density and age, according to World Atlas. Oceanic crust is primarily composed of dark basalt rocks rich in elements such as ...

It suggests that vast portions of the oceanic crust may harbor complex life forms, dramatically expanding the potential habitats for deep-sea creatures.

Seismic data reveal that there may be hunks of oceanic crust stuck deep within the planet's liquid mantle, creating big lumps in one of those smooth layers.

"We know that Earth's oceanic crust accounts for 60 percent of Earth's surface, and on average is four miles thick," said geomicrobiologist Mark Lever of Denmark's Aarhuis University, part of a ...