How worried should we be about cracking the earth’s crust?

JVTech News How worried should we be about cracking the earth’s crust?

An alarming natural phenomenon?

Imagine the Earth’s crust as a giant puzzle made up of giant plates in constant motion. These plates overlap, sink under each other and slide along each other, creating mountains, volcanoes and occasionally earthquakes. But what happens if one of these plates cracks horizontally? This question has been raised by a new scientific hypothesis regarding the formation of the Himalayas.

For years, scientists believed that the Himalayan mountain range was formed as a result of the collision between the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate. The Indian plate, moving northward, would have collided with the Eurasian plate, causing rocks to accumulate and form the world’s highest peaks.

however,
A new study

A surprising alternative, presented at an American Geophysical Union conference, proposes: What if part of the Indian plate had not slipped beneath the Eurasian plate, but also fractured horizontally?

Imagine a knife cutting bread in half. This is the little image we can have of this event. The Eurasian plate would have “cut” the Indian plate in two, creating a unique geological structure where part of the Indian plate is found on the surface, covering the Eurasian plate.

What does it change for us?

This finding, if confirmed, could have important implications. Horizontal splitting of the Indian plate can weaken it, making it more likely to produce large-magnitude earthquakes. Additionally, the thickening of the earth’s crust in the Himalayan region may increase volcanic activity. In other words, more earthquakes and more volcanoes.

It is important to emphasize that this hypothesis is still under development and requires extensive research to be validated. Further geological and geophysical studies are required to confirm the nature and extent of this horizontal separation.

The discovery of possible horizontal separation of the Indian plate is a major scientific breakthrough that opens the way to new research and questions. If confirmed, this finding will have important implications for understanding natural hazards and disaster management in the region.