The Earth is shifting, Tibet shows signs of being torn in two

A new study suggests that something powerful enough to split the Tibetan Plateau could be hidden beneath the Himalayas .

Presenting at the conference of the American Geophysical Union, a group of authors from the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, the National Center for Marine Environmental Forecasting of China and Stanford University (USA) warned that the Indian tectonic plate could split in two as it slides under the Eurasian plate, tearing Tibet apart.

The majestic landscape of Tibet - (Photo: THE LANDS OF SNOW).

The Indian tectonic plate and the Eurasian tectonic plate have long been colliding . In which, the Indian plate slid down, pushing the Eurasian plate up.

It is a normal process in the Earth's plate tectonics, when its "crusts", which carry over continents and oceans, constantly move and change the landscape, creating geological phenomena including volcanoes and earthquakes.

With the Indian and Eurasian plates colliding, the Himalayas were created and grew in size over millions of years.

New research suggests this collision was particularly complex.

Most of the Indian plate is just sliding under the Eurasian plate and is not sinking into the mantle. But a deeper part is being subducted, that is, being sucked into the mantle.

This causes the plate to warp more and more, as half of it tries to cling to Tibet, while the other half is being pulled down with great force.

The process could result in the block tearing as the top half peels off or flakes off, with the ultimate effect of damaging the Tibetan plateau by tearing it in half.

To get the full picture, scientists investigated based on seismic waves recorded in the Tibet region and discovered that the bottom of the Indian plate is up to 200km deep, but other places are only 100km deep.

This means that parts of the Indian plate have already been sloughed off and the process of tearing Tibet apart is taking place underground.

However, you don't need to worry too much, because plate tectonics is a long process. For a continental plate to move noticeably, you need to look at it over tens or hundreds of millions of years.