- By Shailvee Tiwari
- Tue, 14 Jan 2025 04:11 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
In the past few months, scientists discovered some exciting new things about the way the Indian Plate is altering below the Earth's surface. The Indian Plate is part of the Earth's crust, which is slowly splitting apart through a process known as delamination. This process involves breaking off a piece of the plate and filling it with hot material from the mantle. This new theory is providing scientists with the means to know more about the structure of Earth and how the tectonic plates move.
The Himalayas are the world's highest mountain range, formed over 60 million years ago through the collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. This collision continues to shape the region today. However, the Indian Plate does not behave the way scientists previously thought it should. According to reports, some researchers said that once the Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate, it pushed back against falling. Others believed that the edges of the Indian Plate would buckle under the pressure. Now, however, scientists believe that part of the Indian Plate is slowly peeling away beneath the surface.
By monitoring earthquake waves propagating through the Earth's crust and by identifying gases that ascend to the Earth's surface, researchers have obtained data indicating that part of the Indian Plate is actually delaminating, as per the reports by the Brighter Side Of News. Delamination refers to the detachment of the denser lower portion of the plate from the less dense upper part. This development could also explain a huge fracture in the Tibetan Plateau referred to as the Cona-Sangri rift. This tear may be related to the tearing of the plate, and it could account for some of the disturbances that are observed on the surface, although scientists are still studying the relationship.
A new theory about delamination adds another dimension to how continents collide and move. As researchers continue to analyse these powerful processes, they reveal new information that allows us to learn more about the forces at work on our planet.