Mount Everest Is Growing Even Taller (msn.com) 32
The world's tallest mountain is getting taller. Mount Everest, also known as Chomolungma, has grown about 15 to 50 meters (50 to 164 feet) higher over the past 89,000 years than expected, according to a modeling study released Monday. From a report: The culprit is a nearby river eroding and pushing down land, causing the ground under Mount Everest to rebound and lift. "It's a new additional component of uplift of Mount Everest," said Matthew Fox, study co-author and geologist at University College London. He expects this spurt of Everest and its surrounding peaks to continue for millions of years. He added "the biggest impact is probably on the climbers that have to climb another 20 meters or so to the top." The additional height may also lead to the growth of more ice at the higher elevations.
Mount Everest, part of the Himalayan mountain range, towers along the Nepal-Tibet border at around 8,850 meters (29,000 feet) high. Not only is it the tallest worldwide, it leaves its surrounding peaks in the dust -- rising around 250 meters above the next tallest mountain in the Himalayas, the 8,611-meter (28,251-foot) K2 mountain. But what could cause Everest's anomalous height compared to its neighbors? These extra meters on Mount Everest can be chalked up to a relatively rare "river capture event" from 89,000 years ago, according to the authors' computer models. During such an event, one river changes it course, interacts with another and steals its water, Fox said. In this case, the team said the Arun river network -- about 75 kilometers east of Mount Everest -- stole water from a river flowing north of Everest. Fox said the capture could have been initiated by a dramatic flood, which rerouted the water to a new drainage network. Today, the Arun River is a main tributary to the Kosi River to the south.
Mount Everest, part of the Himalayan mountain range, towers along the Nepal-Tibet border at around 8,850 meters (29,000 feet) high. Not only is it the tallest worldwide, it leaves its surrounding peaks in the dust -- rising around 250 meters above the next tallest mountain in the Himalayas, the 8,611-meter (28,251-foot) K2 mountain. But what could cause Everest's anomalous height compared to its neighbors? These extra meters on Mount Everest can be chalked up to a relatively rare "river capture event" from 89,000 years ago, according to the authors' computer models. During such an event, one river changes it course, interacts with another and steals its water, Fox said. In this case, the team said the Arun river network -- about 75 kilometers east of Mount Everest -- stole water from a river flowing north of Everest. Fox said the capture could have been initiated by a dramatic flood, which rerouted the water to a new drainage network. Today, the Arun River is a main tributary to the Kosi River to the south.
Say what? (Score:3)
... has grown about 15 to 50 meters (50 to 164 feet) higher over the past 89,000 years than expected,
Did we expect anything then? I was not aware that we have writings from that period.
over the past 89,000 years (Score:2)
They certainly didn't have meters back then.
Also height is relative, I am sure the average sea level has changed a lot in that time.
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> They certainly didn't have meters back then.
No, Metersaurus Rex used to swallow Imperial Rodents whole.
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Nuance doesn't sell in the news biz.
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(I'm going to file "elevation" under "things that at first seem simple but actually aren't")
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But then there's this: "the biggest impact is probably on the climbers that have to climb another 20 meters or so to the top."
Which is probably BS, since the whole mountain, including the base camp(s) (and not just the peak) is probably rising based on the explanation.
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Yeah, I've got a Neanderthal painting from that era and it clearly shows Mount Everest with its height specified in mammoth tusks.
Written in the Rocks (Score:4, Interesting)
Did we expect anything then?
Yes because we can extrapolate the physical processes happening today into the past to create an expectation of how we think things changed over that time period. We then compare that expectation to the actual data on the changes that happened.
In this case since India is still colliding with Asia and pushing up the Himalayas I suspect there is some baseline growth expected over the past 89 kyrs from that and what has been found is the Everest grew by more than that expectation. Not everything has to be recorded in writing, evidence of past events can be recorded in rocks e.g. lightning strikes on desert sand leave a fossilized remant known as a fulgurite or even in the light from distant stars e.g. supernovae etc.
Meat Mound (Score:2)
It's all the dead frozen hikers piled on top.
Climbing it used to be rare, now they practically need traffic lights up there.
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I'll wait until they invent a helicopter that can fly that high.
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Hm (Score:2)
So each person who reaches to top sets a new world record for tallest mountain climbed?
One bird species evolving to fly over himalayas (Score:2)
The Himalayas get a little taller each year, as India collides with Asia. There's a bird species that have been flying over since the beginning. They have evolved into super high-altitude flyers. The height is now at the point where they must rest before the highest peaks and wait for favorable winds.
It's just an attempt to gamify climbing. (Score:2)
This is all an attempt to gamify climbing, to give the mountain some more replay value since you can now achieve a world record with each climb.
This article is literally nothing for slashdot. (Score:2)
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QUESTION: why do we still see stories in the firehose that have been posted on the main page??? wouldn't it make sense to remove it from the firehose after it's been posted?
Its Orogeny. (Score:2)
o r o g e ny
(teehee)
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Mountains rise with time - basic geology / earth science concept - not news for nerds.
The fact that we can measure, extrapolate, analyze, infer, reconstruct the past using modern technologies - that is the heart of soul of nerdom.
Sounds like you have no such heart and soul.
Re: This article is literally nothing for slashdot (Score:2)
Interesting (Score:2)
Mount Everest, also known as Chomolungma, has grown about 15 to 50 meters (50 to 164 feet) higher over the past 89,000 years than expected, according to a modeling study released Monday.
I hadn't noticed.
It looks the same to me.
Damn it (Score:2)
Lift and shift (Score:2)
It seems Everest wants to keep up with the latest trends. The rivers are causing shifting, and lifting. Pretty soon, it will be completely in the cloud(s)!
Couldn't be satisfied with being #1 (Score:2)
Now Everest has to show up all the other mountains by growing even taller. I think they should throw a flag for "taunting."
Eeh K2 (Score:2)