Mount Everest is about 12ft lower than previously thought, according to the results of a Chinese survey of the world's highest peak. It revealed the summit is now only 29,017.16ft above sea level - 12.14ft below a 1975 Chinese survey and 21.65ft lower than a 1999 American study. Using a combination of radar and global positioning system (GPS) equipment, Chinese mountaineers scaled the peak in May this year and measured the height against six control points near the mountain's base for reference. The revised measurement does not threaten Everest's revered position as the world's highest peak - the second highest, K2, is 28,251ft above sea level - but it may surprise some observers, while perhaps confirming suspicions that the mountain has been shrinking due to the effects of global warming. Speaking when the study was proposed earlier this year, Dr Hugh Sinclair, an expert on the processes of mountain formation and erosion at Edinburgh University's school of geosciences, said he was "extremely doubtful" that the mountain would have shrunk.

He said: "The Himalayas are uplifting at a rate of about 1cm a year due to the collision of the Indian continental plate with the Asian plate. Basically, we have India pushing into Asia at a rate of about 25mm a year, and this causes the high Himalayas to rise up in response to that pressure at about 10mm a year, so the overall tendency should be for the mountain range to grow." At a news conference in Beijing yesterday, Chen Bangzhu, the director general of China's state bureau of surveying and mapping, was non-committal in accounting for the discrepancy, saying "we cannot arrive at the conclusion now that Everest has become shorter, because there have been problems ... of surveying technology with previous measurements".

View: Full Article | Source: The Scotsman

I bet mount everest is thinking "I'm meeellltiiiinnng..."

but this could be a huge devistation if it has shrunk

If its the snow that has melted due to global warming, then it hasn't really shrunk, it simply has less snow on it. Weather changes don't shrink rock! Or am I been dumb, lol.

IT SHRUNK 12 FEET?!?!!?

That's it, i'm climbing it!

That is where the discrepancy has come from I believe. 12 feet just seems far too much for it to shrink especially when its supposed to be risisng slightly each year!

NEWS UPDATE!!!

Oct.12, 2005 (SatirePress)

Emergency services from Nepal and China dispatched over 20 aircraft today, including specially equipped Hughes and Bell helicopters, to unload thousands of gallons of liquid Viagra onto the shrinking Mt. Everest. "This is an all-out effort to restore Everest to its once proud claim as the world's highest mountain. It's really nothing to be embarassed about...it can happen to the best of us", stated Gen. Abso El Morrah, leader of the multinational coalition forces.

"I have climbed Mt. Everest during and immediately after heavy rainfalls, and at that time there is usually some shrinkage. That is quite normal. But it has always grown back to its normal size after a day or two. So, yes, this is very, very unusual", said a shocked Da Lhamu, a long time Sherpa guide and Everest historian.

Perhaps it didn't sink, could the tide have been in when they had the measuring tapes out?

kryso-I wouldn't say rock shrinks, yet I would. Rain does wear rock down. And if the snow is melting due to global warming then that could be taking an effect on rock causing it to reform and wear down. If this is what is going on, it's not a good thing!!

I know rock gets worn and washed away. But 12 feet since it was last recorded. That’s some mean weather up there, lol.

could be possible they made a math mistake?

I bet it's cause we have more precise technology than in 1975, and they simply mis-measured it before.