At first glance, the Himalayas appear immutable; we see snow-capped peaks, majestic mountain ranges, and valleys that tell millions of years of history. However, beneath this epic landscape, a process is underway that could redefine how we understand Earth itself. Something invisible to our eyes, but which sends clear signals to those who know where to look. What’s happening beneath Tibet is, in short, unsettling. This is because scientists are beginning to see that the story isn’t just one of slowly rising mountains, but of a continent that may be, quite literally, tearing itself apart before our eyes.
The Himalayas rise slowly, yet their hidden engine remains uncertain
The origin of the Himalayas dates back to a colossal collision. After all, about 60 million years ago, India—then an island—collided with Eurasia. This impact caused the crust to buckle, creating the highest mountains on the planet. And even more surprising is that this movement hasn’t stopped, because to this day, the mountain range continues to rise, millimeter by millimeter, in a process that resembles a slow-motion film.
But what geologists want to know is something less visible: where is the Indian Plate really headed? For decades, two major hypotheses existed:
- One argued that the plate was simply sliding horizontally beneath Tibet, like a rug being pushed under a sofa.
- The other argued that the densest part was plunging directly into the mantle, the Earth’s deepest layer.
The Himalayas reveal a hidden fracture rewriting Earth’s story
Recent research points to a different, and disturbing, answer. The Indian Plate isn’t just sliding or sinking: it’s splitting into two layer. The upper layer, lighter and less dense, continues to slide beneath Tibet. The lower, heavier layer is said to be delaminating, that is, detaching and sinking into the mantle. Not stopping there, the study also shows evidence of a vertical fracture, a true “slab tear,” where the detached portion separates from the remaining intact portion. How did scientists come to this conclusion? Well, the evidence came from three main fronts:
- Hot springs in Tibet — On an expedition, Klemperer and colleagues analyzed about 200 natural springs. In some of them, they found helium-3, an isotope that can only come from the mantle, revealing spots where the plate appears to be tearing apart.
- Seismic waves — Data collected from hundreds of stations — showed images of underground “blocks,” indicating the separation of the lower part of the plate.
- History of the plate itself — before the collision, the Indian Plate had regions of different thicknesses, which facilitated uneven ruptures at the contact with Eurasia, which is why Asia itself could be splitting in two in real time.
When continents rip apart, earthquakes follow
The idea that a continent could split in real time sounds like science fiction, but its consequences are very real. In fact, Anne Meltzer, a seismologist at Lehigh University, highlighted the importance of this type of discovery: “Almost every landmass on Earth was built from a series of collisions like the Himalayas. So understanding how continents collide sheds light not only on our modern landscape, but also the hazards posed by earthquakes that can occur along the ancient scars of continental crashes.”
This deep separation may be contributing to earthquakes in the region. Just above the area where the tear was identified runs a fault known as the Cona-Sangri Rift, where the Earth’s crust is being stretched. We don’t yet have direct proof that the subterranean fracture is causing the seismic shocks, but scientists see clear signs that the Earth’s internal stresses are also manifesting on the surface. And as if those weren’t enough seismic shocks, it seems that Europe is poised to trigger earthquakes too.
