Who discovered that oceanic crust?

As of 2014, geologists had not been able to successfully drill through the oceanic crust to the mantle. The deepest that scientists have been able to drill is approximately two kilometers. Much of what scientists know about the oceanic crust today has been discovered by observation and inference. read more

In that volcanic arc, the lava and plutons are similar to continental crust, but the lower crust is highly depleted in elements that are abundant in lower continental crust. To determine the potential for relamination to produce lower continental crust, the scientists calculated the density of the exposed lava and plutons at subduction zone pressures and temperatures. read more

Oceanic crust, being so thin, is a very small fraction of the Earth -- about 0.1 percent -- but its life cycle serves to separate the contents of the upper mantle into a heavy residue and a lighter set of basaltic rocks. read more

Continental crust When a continental crust and an oceanic crust meet they form a subduction zone. The heavier oceanic crust is forced beneath the lighter continental crust where it subducts into the lithosphere and melts. The oceanic crust is much younger than continental crust that is not destroyed when it collides with another tectonic plate. read more