Scientists once thought that the intensity of the movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates determined how high a mountain could soar. But new research shows that it’s actually the efficiency with which colder climates erode mountains that limits their height, according to a recent study published in Nature.
The force of the tectonic plates pushing upwards, along with the strength of the Earth’s crust underneath the mountain and the force of erosion, all factor into a mountain’s height. All of the world’s highest ranges have strong underlying crust, but until now it wasn’t clear whether the world’s tallest peaks were dominated by strong uplift or minimal erosion. Using satellite images… researchers mapped all the major mountain ranges between 60° north and 60° south, plotting their land surface area against elevation [New Scientist]. They used a computer model to explore the effects of glacial erosion on these mountain ranges, and also looked at how each range’s latitude compared with its average snowline, or the point at which no significant amount of ice or snow accumulates on a mountain.
