Tibetan Plateau horizonal strain rate

A study on tectonic plates that converge on the Tibetan Plateau has shown that tectonic lines are far weaker and the continents are less rigid than scientists previously thought. The study, published in Science, includes several high-resolution maps based on data from Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites.

The horizontal deformation lines are clearly shown in this map, where the ‘strain rate’ along the Altyn Tagh, the Kunlun and the Xianshuihe fault lines is visible in dark red. These are points where Earth’s crust is being stretched, shortened or sheared and the strain rate tells us how quickly this is happening over a specific time period.

Read full story: Sentinel-1 gives new view of Tibet’s continental clash