Researchers have discovered the Tibetan Plateau's shape, which dwarfs other mountain ranges in height and breadth, may be controlled mostly by the strength of the tectonic plates whose collision prompted its uplift.
Natural-color satellite image of the Tibetan Plateau. While most mountain ranges appear like narrow scars of raised flesh, the Tibetan Plateau, formed by the convergence of the Indian and Asian tectonic plates, looks like a broad, asymmetrical scab surrounded by craggy peaks
However, this model still doesn't explain why the plateau is asymmetrical, says Dr Liu. 'The Tibetan Plateau is not uniformly wide,' said Dr Lin Chen, the study's lead author from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
A graphic showing how mountain ranges form. While most mountain ranges appear like narrow scars of raised flesh, the Tibetan Plateau, formed by the convergence of the Indian and Asian tectonic plates, looks like a broad, asymmetrical scab surrounded by craggy peaks
'We then ran a third scenario which is a composite of the strong and weak Asian plate models,' said Dr Liu.
Tibetan Buddhist stupa and houses outside the town of Ngawa, on the Tibetan Plateau. According to a model developed by researchers, the Tibetan Plateau's shape may be due to the Asian plate having a strong western side and weak eastern side
The researchers say that this model, besides predicting surface topography, also explains some of the complex subsurface structures using seismic observation techniques.
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