One of the deadliest forces of nature is an earthquake. Daily much of the Earth is being shaken by small earthquakes which most people cannot feel. However, there are some that occur that are strong enough to be felt, even at times being deadly enough to cause death and destruction. One of the vulnerable places has been found to be the Himalayas. It's been said that the entire Himalayan Arc is vulnerable to earthquakes, as a new study reveals.
The main fault at the foot of the Himalayas could cause a deadly earthquake to happen. With a length of 2,400 kilometers, the Himalayas is very much vulnerable to earthquakes as it marks the border of two giant tectonic plates beneath it. The Himalayas has been created by such forces in the past, uplifting the region to form it.
The portion of the fault that is being studied is found in Bhutan. The section of the fault has largely been unstudied until now. It is believed that the portion of the fault has produced a deadly earthquake back in 1714.
It is not unusual that the Himalayas to produce deadly earthquakes since two large tectonic plates are underneath it. These plates move against each other, and at times can either grind against each other or else be locked for a long time. Plates locked for a long time have much energy stored, and the longer they are locked the more deadly a quake it will produce.
Scientists so far have not proven that the whole search of the Himalayas could produce an earthquake, according to Science Daily. Though Bhutan has not experienced any seismologic activity recently, geologists are not so sure now. Bhutan might not be safe at all.
"We are for the first time able to say, yes, Bhutan is really seismogenic, and not a quiet place in the Himalayas," remarked Gyorgy Hetenyi, lead author of the study and a geophysicist at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. The study has found that the Himalayas has experienced at least one major earthquake in the past 500 years, as Phys Org notes.
The discovery of the 1714 earthquake has been made due to the biography of a Buddhist monk. Tenzin Lekpai Dondup built the Gangteng monastery that was destroyed by the earthquake in 1714. Based on the biography and other writings, the earthquake was likely a major one. It was not established however where the earthquake originated.
French geologist Romain Le Roux-Mallouf of the University of Montpellier in France helped in identifying where the earthquake came from. He found a rock uplift that happened between 1642 and 1836. Through his work Hetenyi and his team were able to find the location for the earthquake's origin.
As further study is being made, it is being made clear that the entire Himalayan Arc is vulnerable to earthquakes. The new study reveals more of it and through it, Hetenyi and his team can help understand the potential for deadly earthquakes in the region. An earlier study has shown that a large amount of continental crust disappeared after the Himalayas had been formed.
