Chinese Survey Finds Mount Everest Comes Up Short

TECTONICS

AFP file photo of Mount Everest.

Beijing (AFP) Oct 09, 2005
Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, stands 8,844.43 meters (29,017 feet, two inches) above sea level, some four meters shorter than previously thought, according to the latest Chinese survey.

The latest measurement was made by a team jointly organised by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM), Chen Bangzhu, director general of the bureau, told journalists Sunday.

The new height compares with China's previous measurement of Mount Qomolangma, the Tibetan name of the mountain, of 8,848.13 meters (29,029 feet, three and a half inches) which was done in 1975.

"This time the measurement of Qomolangma is lower than that of the 1975 measurement," Chen said.

"Actually the Qomolangma region is a place where the earth's crust is moving, but the new measurement that we have announced is based on the height of the peak's rock surface.

"Before we were unable to measure the height of the rock surface, this time we measured the thickness of the ice to get the actual height of the rock surface."

Chen said the accuracy of the measurement had a range of plus or minus 0.21 meters, while the thickness of the ice at the summit was measured at 3.5 meters.

China used the latest technology in measuring the mountain, including satellite equipment belonging to the Global Positioning System (GPS), he said.

The newest measurement also differs from a 1999 measurement by American scientists also using GPS satellite equipment that found the height of the mountain at 8,850 meters (29,035 feet).

TECTONICS

Nearly 20,000 Dead In South Asian Quake

Balakot, Pakistan (AFP) Oct 09, 2005
Pakistan on Sunday said nearly 20,000 people died in an earthquake it called the biggest tragedy in its history, as the devastated nation reached out for help from around the world.

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