A photo from open sources
Most of us think that soil erosion is the main force that levels mountains, but geologists have discovered that mountains Oahu dissolve from within due to groundwater. Someday groundwater will completely dissolve the Hawaiian Islands, writes Science Daily And the local mountains will be nothing more than flat, lowland islands. “We tried to figure out how quickly the islands leave and what affects the speed of the process, “said a geologist from the University Brigham Young University Steve Nelson “Dissolution blowing more rocks from these islands than erosion. “Researchers studied groundwater and surface water to find out where contains more dissolved minerals trapped from the soil. Nelson and his BYU colleagues sampled both types for two months sources. In addition, the USGS helped them calculate the total amount of land mass that disappears from the islands Every year. “All Hawaiian islands are made of one kind of stone,” – says Nelson. “The level of erosion is variable because rainfall varies so it’s a big natural laboratory. “Forecasting the island’s future should also consider plate tectonics. As the Oahu Mountains push towards northwest, the island actually rises, slowly but steadily. This is a “mountain climber”, it rises. Estimated Researchers, Oahu will continue to grow for about 1.5 million years. But groundwater will ultimately take over, and the island will begin to turn into a lowland.
Island Water
