"New Study Reveals Surprising Findings on Earth's Continental History and Deformation"

A new study challenges the conventional view of Earth's stable cratons, revealing that they have undergone repetitive deformation beneath their crust since formation. The study found that the mantle keels, once thought to be buoyant and stable, are dense and subject to significant change over time, altering our understanding of continental evolution and the operation of plate tectonics. The research shows that the lower portion of the mantle keel that has a high density and tends to repeatedly peel away from the lithosphere above when mantle upwellings, called plumes, initiate supercontinent breakup.