Parts of ancient Earth may have formed continents and recycled crust through subduction far earlier than previously thought.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Tiny air bubbles trapped in ancient salt crystals are offering the clearest view yet of Earth’s atmosphere a billion years ago.

The Purple Earth Hypothesis has significant implications for the search for life on other planets.

But geologists have long debated exactly when Earth’s crust broke into plates, with competing hypotheses spanning from the first billion years of the planet’s 4.5-billion-year history to sometime in ...

A drawing of an orange, cloud-covered planet against a black background During the Archean Eon, 4-2.5 billion years ago, Earth likely looked very different than it does today. Its hazy skies may have ...

Researchers have discovered chemical traces of life in rocks older than 3.3 billion years, offering a rare look at Earth’s earliest biology. By combining advanced chemical methods with artificial ...

More than a billion years ago, a shallow basin in what is now northern Ontario held a subtropical lake. The setting likely resembled modern Death Valley, where heat drives evaporation and leaves salt ...