The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known as "the roof of the world", is moving northward and eastward at a speed of seven to 30 millimeters a year.
Dr. Tan Kai, a researcher with China Seismological Bureau explains what the plateau's movement may bring about.
¡°The pressure from the Indian plate will not only cause an upward movement of the plateau, but some other changes will also occur in the terms of the climate, species, and oil.¡±
Dr. Tan Kai and his colleagues are collecting data for a global positioning system survey in the towering Kunlun Mountains near Golmud city in northwest China¡¯s Qinghai Province.
He said the movement of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau is due to pushing by the Indian plate, but it is barely noticeable and will not change the Chinese continental plate any time soon. But the forces are still significant from a geological point of view.
A collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasia Continent Plate 40 million years ago shaped the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its surrounding geological features.
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