Interesting piece of geological research, from a tectonic plate angle – see https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/05/tectonic-plate-rediscovered-after-20-million-years/ … the headline seems to assume somebody lost the plate 20 million years ago – but the thinking behind this is revealing. For plate tectonics to work they have to assume the old plates have subducted down into the Mantle, below the crust of the Earth, and yet now and again they find lost plate material. Or rocks that are thought to be the remnants of former plates that existed in geological history. In this case the theory is that it is a mega-plate that has been found. It is named for some reason the Pontus tectonic plate and it has been missing for 20 million years. Presumably thought to have been covered in later rocks. It is estimated to be 15 square million miles in extent – yet has been hiding out of sight and mind.
It has long been thought such a tectonic plate, or former sea bed, was long ago swallowed by the Mantle, via subduction. A classic plate tectonics explanation. Sweep it out of sight. We are told geologists know it existed 160 million years ago. However, the former sea bottom, or what is thought to have been formerly a sea or ocean bottom, has been found – in the western Pacific. It plays a role in geological events from as far north as Japan to as far south as New Zealand, and various other points such as the South China Sea. Although field research was involved so too was a great deal of modelling or computer simulation using a plate tectonics template.
At https://phys.org/news/2025-05-lava-jigsaw-puzzle-reveals-secrets.html … lava flows that solidified but then cracked open by earthquakes in what is now Turkey [Anatolia] may provide clues on how continents moved over time. Presumably, how tectonic plates moved over time.
At https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/05/nasa-has-released-its-clearest-images-yet-of-mars-140-million-miles-away/ … some interesting pictures of the geology of Mars – a 360 degree panorama taken by Curiosity Rover.
At https://sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250430142012.htm … an ancient volcanic mystery has been solved, is the excited headline. An underwater volcano, part of a string of them on the Pacific ocean floor, is called the Ontong-Javan Plateau. It is the biggest volcanic platform on Earth. Ontong-Java itself, the former volcano, lies to the north of the Solomon Islands.