Friday, October 11, 2024

Mount Everest is rising higher and will continue to grow: puzzle solved

Mount Everest continues to grow and does not stop. The highest mountain in the world, with a height of 8849 metresIt has risen from 15 to 50 meters in the last 89 thousand years. Even today, it continues to grow. The measurement of the mountain is the subject of a study that took into account a new factor that determines the image. The streams flowing in the Everest region erode the soil by “pushing” it down.

Mount Everest is growing, and here's the culprit

The base surrounding the mountain is being excavated and reshaped slowly but gradually. The main culprit would be the Arun River, which flows about 75 kilometers from Mount Everest, and thousands of years ago, perhaps after an extreme weather phenomenon, began “stealing” water from a stream closer to the mountain. Over time, the water pulled down sediment, effectively “moving” millions of tons of material and causing the mountain to rise due to the “isostatic rebound” phenomenon. Today, the Arun River is the main tributary of the Kosi River, which flows to the south.

“It's a new additional factor behind the ascent of Mount Everest,” said Matthew Fox, a geologist at University College London and co-author of the study. This phenomenon, which has had consequences in the past ninety thousand years, according to scientists, will have a very long-term impact: it can be assumed that the growth of Everest is a process that will likely continue for millions of years.

Infinite growth? maybe…

Fox added, “The main impact will likely fall on the climbers, who will have to climb an additional 20 meters to reach the summit,” without ruling out the formation of other layers of ice at the “new” altitudes. In the Himalayas, Mount Everest currently rises above the second peak, K2 (8,611 metres), by about 250 metres. The growth process involving Mount Everest also concerns other mountains: in particular, it will be necessary to monitor measurements of Lhotse and Makalu.

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