New research has found Mount Everest has seen growth of up to 50 metres taller over a period of nearly 90,000 years.
Findings published in the journal Nature Geoscience show that the world’s tallest mountain continues to grow.
Its extra height is attributed to a process caused by river erosion at the mountain’s base.
Researchers include academics from the University College London (UCL). They have calculated that the mountain has grown up to two millimetres a year.
Background
At 8,849 metres high, Mount Everest is the world’s tallest mountain. Located in Nepal’s Himalayas, it sits around 250 metres above the region’s next tallest peak.
Mount Everest is also referred to as Chomolungma in Tibet, or Sagarmāthā in Nepali.
It takes the average climber two months to reach the peak of Everest.
Mount Everest growth
A river network near Mount Everest is causing land at its base to erode, resulting in mountain growth. Pressure from deep within the earth causes the crust (the outermost layer) to shift upwards.
According to UCL researchers, this effect is called “isostatic rebound”. This is when a section of the crust “floats” upwards “because the intense pressure of the liquid mantle below is greater than the downward force of gravity after the loss of mass.”
This process is estimated to have added 15 to 50 metres of height to Mount Everest over the last 89,000 years.
“Mount Everest is a remarkable mountain of myth and legend and it’s still growing… the loss of material is causing the mountain to spring further upwards.”
Co-author, Adam Smith from the University College London Earth Sciences
