The research results of Wang Chengshan, an academician of the CAS Member and a professor from the School of Earth Sciences and Resources of China University of Geosciences (Beijing), and his collaborators, published in Nature Geoscience on the evening of the 30th, show that river erosion has a potential impact on the height of Mount Everest. This discovery not only helps to reveal the mystery of the "abnormal height" of Mount Everest, but also provides a new perspective for exploring the formation mechanisms of other mountain ranges. Wang Chengshan said that global scientists have confirmed that the formation of Mount Everest is mainly due to the collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. This geological process not only created Mount Everest, but also formed the whole the Himalayas. However, the collision of tectonic plates alone cannot fully explain why the altitude of Mount Everest is significantly higher than other peaks. For example, Mount Everest is nearly 250 meters higher than the world's second highest peak, K2, while the height difference between K2 and the third and fourth peaks is only a few tens of meters. This abnormal height difference suggests that the uplift of Mount Everest may have been influenced by some unique mechanism. After years of scientific research, the research team has discovered a unique water system evolution around Mount Everest, particularly closely related to the evolution of an ancient river - the Kexi River. The upper reaches of the Kexi River is the Pengqu River in China, which is located in the north of Mount Everest, in an east-west direction, while the lower reaches cut through the the Himalayas, in a north-south direction. By establishing a hydraulic erosion model and combining it with nonlinear inversion methods, the team ultimately reconstructed the "river erosion" process of the Kosi River. River erosion is a common phenomenon in mountain ranges, meaning that one river "steals" the water flow of another river through erosion. The research results indicate that about 89000 years ago, the Kosi River experienced river erosion, leading to a rapid expansion of the watershed area and an accelerated rate of river erosion, with a maximum annual erosion depth of up to 12 millimeters. As the riverbed cuts downwards, the surrounding rocks undergo a "balanced rebound" due to weight reduction, which further promotes the uplift of Mount Everest. It is estimated that since the river attack, the altitude of Mount Everest has increased by about 0.2 to 0.5 millimeters per year, with a cumulative increase of 15 to 50 meters in height. Although tectonic movements are still the main cause of the uplift of Mount Everest, this study reveals a new mechanism of river erosion leading to mountain peak uplift, which helps people to have a more comprehensive understanding of the evolution of orogenic belts and the process of peak formation Wang Chengshan said. (New Society)