2024-10-01 08:40:22
London: The height of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain peak, is increasing by 2 millimeters every year. A river is eroding rock and soil at the base of Everest, causing it to rise upward, according to a new study. Researchers have said that Everest is 15-50 meters higher than normal height. The world’s highest peak is rising by 2 mm every year due to landslides in the Arun River basin 75 km away, researchers at University College London (UCL) said.
Why is the height of Everest increasing?
Study co-author Adam Smith, speaking to the BBC, said, ‘It’s like throwing away cargo from a ship. The ship becomes lighter, so floats a little higher. Similarly, when the crust becomes light, it may float up a little.’ Scientists say that the pressure caused by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates 4 to 5 crore years ago has created the Himalayas. Due to plate tectonics, the height of the Himalayas is continuously increasing.
UCLA researchers say the Arun River network is helping the mountain grow. The researchers explained that the Arun River cuts material (river beds) from the Earth’s crust as it flows through the Himalayas. This reduces the pressure on the mantle (the next layer below the crust), causing the crust to become flexible and float upward. This is called isostatic rebound.
These peaks are also growing along with Everest
The research, published in Nature Geoscience, says this upward force is pushing Everest and other neighboring peaks, including Lhotse and Makalu, the world’s fourth and fifth highest peaks, upwards. In its report, the BBC quoted study co-author Dr. Matthew Fox as saying that Mount Everest and its neighboring peaks are rising because isostatic rebound is raising them faster than erosion is lowering them.
He further said, with the help of GPS we can see them (Everest) growing by about two millimeters per year and now we have a better understanding of why this is happening. Some geologists who were not involved in the study said that this theory is credible but there is still much that is uncertain in the research.