Sep 1, 2025 06:42 PM
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth...s-discover
EXCERPTS: Scientists may have just toppled a 100-year-old theory about what holds up the highest mountain range on Earth, new research shows.
The Himalayan mountains formed in the collision between the Asian and Indian continents around 50 million years ago, when tectonic forces squeezed Tibet so hard that the region crumpled and its area shrank by almost 620 miles (1,000 kilometers). The Indian tectonic plate eventually slipped under the Eurasian plate, doubling the thickness of Earth's crust beneath the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau to the north, and contributing to their uplift.
For a century, the prevailing theory has been that this doubling of the crust alone carries the weight of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. Research published in 1924 by Swiss geologist Émile Argand shows the Indian and Asian crusts stacked on top of each other, together stretching 45 to 50 miles (70 to 80 km) deep beneath Earth's surface.
But this theory doesn't stand up to scrutiny, researchers now say, because the rocks in the crust turn molten around 25 miles (40 km) deep due to extreme temperatures.
[...] the new study reveals there is a piece of mantle sandwiched between the Asian and Indian crusts. This explains why the Himalayas grew so tall, and how they still remain so high today, the authors wrote in the paper, published Aug. 26 in the journal Tectonics.
[...] The study presents strong evidence for this model, but contradicting Arnaud's 100-year-old theory is controversial because it has been so widely adopted, Pilia said... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: Scientists may have just toppled a 100-year-old theory about what holds up the highest mountain range on Earth, new research shows.
The Himalayan mountains formed in the collision between the Asian and Indian continents around 50 million years ago, when tectonic forces squeezed Tibet so hard that the region crumpled and its area shrank by almost 620 miles (1,000 kilometers). The Indian tectonic plate eventually slipped under the Eurasian plate, doubling the thickness of Earth's crust beneath the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau to the north, and contributing to their uplift.
For a century, the prevailing theory has been that this doubling of the crust alone carries the weight of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. Research published in 1924 by Swiss geologist Émile Argand shows the Indian and Asian crusts stacked on top of each other, together stretching 45 to 50 miles (70 to 80 km) deep beneath Earth's surface.
But this theory doesn't stand up to scrutiny, researchers now say, because the rocks in the crust turn molten around 25 miles (40 km) deep due to extreme temperatures.
[...] the new study reveals there is a piece of mantle sandwiched between the Asian and Indian crusts. This explains why the Himalayas grew so tall, and how they still remain so high today, the authors wrote in the paper, published Aug. 26 in the journal Tectonics.
[...] The study presents strong evidence for this model, but contradicting Arnaud's 100-year-old theory is controversial because it has been so widely adopted, Pilia said... (MORE - missing details)