Nearby River is Pushing Up Peak of Mount Everest, Study Suggests

Oct 1, 2024 by News Staff



Han et al. found that erosion from a river network about 75 km from Mount Everest is carving away a substantial gorge; the loss of this landmass is causing the mountain to spring upwards by as much as 2 mm a year and has already increased its height by between 15 and 50 m over the past 89,000 years. Image credit: Truthseeker08.


Formed by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian plate, the Himalayas host some of Earth’s highest mountains.

Mount Everest stands at 8,849 m above sea level — about 250 m higher than the Himalaya’s other tallest peaks. Previous analysis of GPS data suggests recent uplift of Everest of about 2 mm per year, which exceeds the expected uplift rate of the mountain range, suggesting there may be a mechanism other than the ongoing regional tectonics contributing to this process.

“Mount Everest is a remarkable mountain of myth and legend and it’s still growing,” said University College London Ph.D. student Adam Smith. “Our research shows that as the nearby river system cuts deeper, the loss of material is causing the mountain to spring further upwards.”

In the study, Smith and his colleagues investigated whether the changes to the mountain’s neighboring rivers could have contributed to the recent uplift of Everest. They used numerical models to simulate the evolution of the Kosi River network to compare it to existing topography.

The models suggest that the Arun River — a main tributary of the Kosi River — was involved in the capture of another river 89,000 years ago. The diversion of river water led to a pulse of increased river erosion as the river adjusted to its new path and resulted in the creation of the deep Arun River Gorge.

More:
https://www.sci.news/othersciences/geoscience/mount-everest-river-13304.html