Global warming is moving mountains

New York: Researchers have discovered a strong relationship between global and local climate change and a mountain's internal tectonic plate shifts and topographic changes.

The study unveiled a strong interaction between climate shifts and increased internal movement in the North American St. Elias Mountain Range. Looking at the St. Elias Mountains, Enkelmann noted how dry it is in the northern part of the mountain range. But the precipitation is very high in the southern area, resulting in more erosion and material coming off the southern flanks.

So as the climate change influences the erosion, that can produce a shift in the tectonics. The researchers found that the way a mountain range moves and behaves topographically can also change and create its local climate by redirecting wind and precipitation. The repercussions of these changes can in turn, accelerate the erosion and tectonic seismic activity of that mountain range.