A Chinese researcher who is taking part in a month-long scientific expedition to the Himalayas, has found that the peaks may have reached their highest altitude, and may even shrink a little in the centuries to come.
Bian Qiantao, the researcher, works with the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"Friction between the tectonic plates continues to this day, gradually pushing the Himalayas upward. But, at the same time, a horizontal pulling power inside the lower continental crust and mantle of the earth counteracts this upward movement," the China Daily quoted Bian as saying.
Measurements made by scientists in 2005 recorded the altitude of Mount Qomolangma, one of the Himalayan peaks, as 8844.43 metres, 3.70 metres lower than the figure obtained in 1975.
The result suggested that the Himalayas and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau would not continue to move up indefinitely.
"After growing to a certain height, the effect of gravity and collision-generated extrusion will make them grow wider, but not higher," explained Bian.
Meanwhile, other scientists argue that if the range grows horizontally, a huge graben, a basin formed between parallel fault lines, will be formed somewhere on the plateau.
They believe that as the collision of continents continues, the altitude of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Himalayas will continue to increase.
