India's Continental Plate splitting horizontally, finds new study

A new study suggests that beneath the surface of India, the Indian Continental Plate is undergoing a transformation, potentially splitting horizontally into distinct layers. This departure from conventional tectonic expectations was unveiled at the American Geophysical Union conference in December, introducing the concept of "delamination" as a novel explanation for the formation of the Tibetan Plateau.

Researchers, led by Simon Klemperer of Stanford University, presented evidence supporting the hypothesis of delamination.

Unlike the traditional visualizations of tectonic plates breaking apart laterally, the study proposes a process wherein the Indian Plate separates into higher and lower layers. This, according to the theory, elucidates the extraordinary altitude of Tibet, as the elevated section of the plate contributes to Tibet's lofty peaks, while the lower part submerges into the Earth's mantle.

Professor Douwe van Hinsbergen of Utrecht University, speaking to Science Magazine, said: “We didn’t know continents could behave this way and that is, for solid earth science, pretty fundamental.” He is not an author on the study.