Originally posted by KilgoreTrout
Originally posted by Harte
The other side of the plate - the western side of India, is undergoing it's own subduction as it presses into Asia, forming the Himalayas. Thats' the locale this thread is about.
So...in geographical time, the Indian sub-continent crashes into Asia and the impact forces the Himalayas up, and continues to do so. I understand that much. I think. I found this, I am sure, fascinating article...
The most spectacular example of a plate convergence event on Earth is the motion of the Indian plate towards Eurasia at speeds in excess of 18 cm yr−1 (ref. 1), and the subsequent collision. Continental buoyancy usually stalls subduction shortly after collision, as is seen in most sections of the Alpine–Himalayan chain. However, in the Indian section of this chain, plate velocities were merely reduced by a factor of about three when the Indian continental margin impinged on the Eurasian trench about 50 million years ago. Plate convergence, accompanied by Eurasian indentation, persisted throughout the Cenozoic era1, 2, 3, suggesting that the driving forces of convergence did not vanish on continental collision. Here we estimate the density of the Greater Indian continent, after its upper crust is scraped off at the Himalayan front, and find that the continental plate is readily subductable. Using numerical models, we show that subduction of such a dense continent reduces convergence by a factor similar to that observed. In addition, an imbalance between ridge push and slab pull can develop and cause trench advance and indentation. We conclude that the subduction of the dense Indian continental slab provides a significant driving force for the current India–Asia convergence and explains the documented evolution of plate velocities following continental collision.
www.earthbyte.org...
...unfortunately it is beyond my scope of understanding, as yet, we live and learn, one day it may make perfect sense, but until then, does this mean that India's coast could be bobbing up and down like Australia? Presumably, there is some general momentum upwards, responsive to impact, but is it also, at times, being re-aligned by the subduction process? Lifting back up to level it out or the such like.
I apologise for my gross ignorance, and/or silly questions.
Actually, to lift up the entire Indian subcontinent or lets say to keep it floating, we need 100million gallons of H2SO4 or sulphuric acid, Sulphuric acid would react with Thorium oxide deposits the indian coastline has underwater.
edit on 5-8-2011 by sai1711 because: (no reason
given)
so your a geologist now: 
