According to the most recent data, Tibet, which is located on the northern edge of the magnificent Himalayan mountain range, may be experiencing a tectonic plate break beneath it.
The Indian and Eurasian continental tectonic plates collided to create the massive Himalayas.
The research presents a complex picture in which the Indian plate is probably subducting, but with a twist: as it descends, it will probably rip and distort, causing its upper half to delaminate.
These discoveries provide insight into the complicated and complex geological processes that are taking on beneath the largest mountain range in the world.
The intricate underlying mechanism
A global group of scientists presented their results in December at the American Geophysical Union meeting.
The research team proposes that the Indian plate is going through a process known as “delamination,” in which the plate splits into two independent regions, each of which is behaving differently.
It is known that the upper part of the Indian Plate is delaminating, functioning as a buoyant mass to support Tibet’s lofty topography.
On the other hand, it is thought that the denser lower portion of the Indian Plate will sink into the Earth’s mantle. In this instance, the lower Indian Plate descends into the mantle beneath the Tibetan region in a manner akin to subduction.
The scientists in this study investigated seismic waves propagating through the crust at the interface of the Indian and Eurasian plates.
Reconstructed images from these seismic waves show apparent cracks in the Indian plate’s crust, according to Live Science. These rips are between 62 miles (100 kilometers) and 124 miles (200 kilometers) deep, which suggests a considerable peeling and separation.
The analysis suggests that the Indian plate is delaminated rather than smoothly subducted, which puts existing ideas to the test.
In this scenario, the lighter upper part of the Indian plate continues on its subterranean journey, while the denser base of the plate sinks into the Earth’s mantle. According to their theory, parts of the Indian plate are breaking apart around 100 kilometers below the surface, which is causing its base to bend into the Earth’s molten interior.
