Research suggests India is splitting in two

Scientists have discovered that the tectonic plate under India might be splitting into two.

A vertical split of this tectonic plate would mean that there will be the creation of two countries, each about the size of Mongolia but studies reveal that the split is happening horizontally.

This finding was presented at the American Geophysical Union conference in December 2023.

The research, titled "Slab tearing and delamination of the Indian lithospheric mantle during flat-slab subduction, southeast Tibet," looks into the formation of the Himalayas, a mountain range, that consists of India, Pakistan, Nepal, China, and Bhutan.

The Himalayas were formed by the collision of the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate, a process that started 50 million years ago and is still ongoing.

The team of researchers led by Lin Liu, Danian Shi, and Simon L. Klemperer, began by exploring helium levels in Tibetan springs. Their findings showed that southern Tibet had higher helium levels than northern Tibet, suggesting that the Indian tectonic plate might be splitting beneath the Tibetan plateau. They used '3D S-wave receiver-functions' to study the Indian Plate, a method that uses earthquake data to image the Earth's internal structure.

Their results showed that the Indian Plate might be tearing or getting deformed, with its top and lower slabs coming loose.

This could mean that the plate is 'underplating' or 'subducting' beneath a 'mantle wedge,' indicating that the plate is peeling into two layers rather than breaking apart completely.

The study, published in ESS Open Archive, noted, "Our 3D S-wave receiver-functions newly reveal orogen-perpendicular tearing or warping of the Indian Plate."

This means the Indian Plate is splitting horizontally, a process that has huge significance for understanding tectonic activity and the future geology of the region.