This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The main objective was to improve understanding of the origin and evolution of the Earth`s lithosphere by studying selected processes, such as deformation and magmatic intrusion during crustal extension, formation and extraction of mantle melts, fluid transport of heat and mass, and surface processes that respond to deep-seated events. Additional objectives were to promote and develop innovative techniques and to support relevant educational endeavors. Seismic studies suggest that underplating of crust by mantle melts is an important crustal-growth mechanism, that low-angle faults can be seismogenic, and that shear deformation creates mantle anisotropy near plate boundaries. Results of geochemical work determined that magmas from oceanic intraplate islands are derived from a uniform depth in the upper mantle, whereas melts erupted at mid-ocean ridges are mixed from a range of depths. The authors have determined the extent and style of fluid infiltration and trace-element distribution in natural magmatic systems, and, finally, investigated {sup 21}Ne as a tool for dating of surficial materials.