Sunday, April 26, 2015

Indian plate is on the move

Indian plate movement

Indian plate as parted from the Australian plate and moved north towards Eurasian plate 130 million years ago. The Indian plate moved northwards as continents drifts so it collided with Eurasian plate which was already present in the north. From the day of collision the movement of the Indian plate hasn't stopped, slowly and gradually momentum continues. The rate of Indian plate movement is 45 millimetres a year nowadays. As it is convergent plate boundary which is also termed as destructive plate boundary because of no basinal development but instead are the collision where mountain building takes part. Himalayas ranges are the resulting Eurasian and Indian plate collisions. As the movement continued there are more ranges and thrust faults resulted from it. Indian plate cannot compete with that of a more massive Eurasian plate so lifting will be the result when Indian plate progresses, so it breaks making thrust faults. 
So what basically is the reason to discuss the Indian plate movement?
Well the answer is the faults in the Indian plate as a result of its northwards progression. 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal which was devastating. A lot of life were taken because of the ground shaking in Nepal capital Kathmandu.This earthquake was result of the fault line beneath the two plates meeting point, Himalayas. As plates movements are sometime stopped a while because of the plate edges being stuck into one another. The reason for the edges stuck is the brittle rocks which are hard enough not to break but instead stuck. When the plate moves its edges got friction as rocks are stuck, gives a jerk which results in the earthquakes. 
Nepal earthquake

Nepal earthquake
So this time Nepal is on the hit because of the earthquake caused from the Indian plate movement. Aftershocks are always coming from a major earthquakes, how much more lives are at stake from it? the number up till now is said to be 1500 from the officials but it will still grow as aftershocks continued.