The phrase "continental masses" refers to the large land areas found on Earth's surface, such as continents. It is used to describe the extensive regions of solid ground that are above sea level. Full definition
Virendra Tiwari from the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad, India, and colleagues used gravity data from the GRACE satellite to monitor the loss of continental mass around the world since 2002. (newscientist.com)
«Starting back in the 1960s, for various reasons people claimed there was very little continental mass, and so there wasn't enough weathering to affect the chemistry of the ocean. (sciencedaily.com)
Zircons are only formed in particular volcanic eruptions that are triggered when continental masses crash into each other, so they act as a record of past continental collisions. (newscientist.com)