Why Is India Lost Below China in Tectonic Tug-of-War?

Dr Sridevi Jade, Director, CSIR Fourth Paradigm Institute (CSIR-4PI), at GPS facility in Hanle, Ladakh

Hanle, Ladakh:

The military standoff between India and China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) recently found an amicable solution. However, another type of constant and ancient tectonic conflict continues between India and China, with the Indian tectonic plate constantly losing land by slipping beneath the Tibetan plate. The Indian landmass is shrinking as its tectonic plate slides beneath the Eurasian or Tibetan plate.

This correspondent experienced first-hand the war of continents high in the Himalayas at Hanle in Ladakh; here Hanle may have risen about 2.5 centimeters in the last 25 years since this reporter’s last visit to the same places almost a quarter of a century ago.

In an interesting example from geological history, the Indian landmass is subducting or sliding beneath the Tibetan landmass, where the Asian landmass essentially covers the present geographical area of ​​China. This is why the Himalayas, which are constantly growing and considered the youngest mountains, continue to rise by 5 millimeters per year. The height of Mount Everest is also increasing.

In northern India, below the Himalayas, this tug and pull beneath the Earth’s surface is the primary cause of earthquakes in the Himalayan region. As the Indian plate slides under the Eurasian plate, a constant tension builds up, like a rubber band gradually stretching, then there comes a point where the tense tension is released as the ground collapses, leading to earthquakes.

In fact, some parts of the Himalayan region have not faced a mega-earthquake for over 500 years and some say a mega-earthquake in the region is long overdue. Experts say that since it is not currently possible to stop or even predict earthquakes, only more durable and earthquake-resistant structures can be built to save lives.

The origin of this conflict between the Indian and Tibetan plates lies in a phenomenon called continental drift, which began almost 60-70 million years ago; This is also often referred to as a ‘mega breakup’.

NDTV Science Editor Pallava Bagla saw first-hand the tectonic tug of war in Ladakh’s Hanle district

The Indian landmass was a part of the supercontinent called ‘Gondwanaland’, located close to the African continent. Due to little-understood tectonic drama, the Indian plate began to move northward and remained like a constantly floating and mobile island for a long time.

Then at some point 10-15 million years ago the Indian plate collided with the Asian plate. This gave rise to the formation of the Himalayan mountain range. Since then the Indian plate has been slowly but firmly being compressed and swallowed beneath the Tibetan plate at a rate of 5 to 6 centimeters per year.

To accurately monitor what is happening on the ground, Indian scientists from the CSIR Fourth Paradigm Institute (CSIR-4PI) in Bengaluru have set up high-accuracy reference stations on the Tibetan plate, one at Hanle in Ladakh and the other in Bengaluru. By tracking the movement of these reference points using advanced global positioning system (GPS) devices and satellites, the Indian team can assess how land masses are moving relative to each other.

“In the last 25 years, Hanle has moved almost 85 centimeters towards the northeast. India has moved towards the northeast by, say, 1.37 meters in Bengaluru. This movement causes stress, which manifests itself in earthquakes,” said Director Dr Sridevi Jade. , CSIR Fourth Paradigm Institute (CSIR-4PI), Bengaluru and specializes in measuring continental drift.

However, Dr. The saving grace, as Jade puts it, is that “India is unlikely to disappear any time soon.”