00:03The Himalayas are the tallest mountain range in the world, all caused by the collision of
00:08tectonic plates driving into one another. Now researchers say that very collision which began
00:12millions of years ago is not only forcing mountains high into the sky, but it may also
00:17split Tibet in two. India used to be an island in the ocean, but the Indian tectonic plate
00:22eventually crashed into the Eurasian plate some 60 million years ago. However, that collision is
00:27still happening, moving just a little bit every year, and researchers have long wondered if it
00:32was sliding beneath the continent or diving deep into the Earth's mantle. Now a new study suggests
00:37that both could be happening concurrently, effectively cutting Tibet down the middle.
00:41The researchers say this likely won't cause the country to physically split in two,
00:45but it could cause a slab tear. This could divide the Himalayas and lead to many more
00:49earthquakes in the affected areas. With geodynamics researcher Dawei von Hinsbergen saying about the
00:55recent findings, quote, we didn't know continents could behave this way, and that is for solid
00:59Earth science pretty fundamental. Van Hinsbergen adds this is the first time this type of geological
01:04tectonic tearing has been witnessed in real time.
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