The imposing presence of Mount Everest has always held a tremendous attraction for humans. One of the things that has most attracted attention about its presence has been a series of noises emanating from the mountain, the origin of which has never been known—until now. Research has revealed that the sharp drops in temperature that occur after dark are responsible for this range of sounds, as the interior of the glaciers surrounding Mount Everest ruptures and splinters. Yet another example of how nature cannot be underestimated.
The study from the University of Hokkaido revealed the cause of the loud roars heard on Mount Everest at night that have been described as ‘terrifying’
Its 8,848 meters above sea level attract tourists and scientists, and only a few thousand people have managed to reach the summit of this peculiar mountain in the Himalayas. Now, a team of scientists has spent three weeks measuring vibrations to unravel this nocturnal mystery. The study from the University of Hokkaido revealed the cause of the loud roars heard on Mount Everest at night that have been described as “terrifying.” Once the sun sets, the mountain awakens and erupts in tremendous noises that surround the peak.
Investigation: as the sun sets, Everest actually wakes up
The research, led by glaciologist Evgeny Podolskiy, an expert at the Arctic Research Center at Hokkaido University, to investigate the cause of these terrifying and deafening nighttime sounds, was responsible for revealing the secrets of these noises. The team walked for a week in order to monitor the seismic activity of the Trakarding-Trambau glacier system. They discovered that, as the sun sets, Everest actually wakes up. During the nights, they recounted how the temperature suddenly dropped around 15 degrees Celsius, accompanied by loud sounds that disturbed their sleep. “It was an incredible experience because it’s a magnificent area to work in. Basically, I eat lunch while looking at Everest,” Podolskiy said after the research.
The experts placed sensors in the ice to measure vibrations deep within the glacier, which they then collected seismic vibration data
The researchers stayed on the mountain until they began to hear the sounds they had studied so much. “We heard this loud noise. We realized that our glacier is bursting or exploding with crevasses at night,” the experts explain in their study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. To find out what the noise was, they placed sensors in the ice to measure vibrations deep within the glacier, which they then collected seismic vibration data and compared it with temperature and wind data.
The researchers found abrupt nighttime temperature drops due to the glacier’s high altitude
They confirmed that the strange noises were related to the extreme cold when they returned to sea level and examined the seismographic data. As a result, they established a link between changes in temperature and noise at night, resulting from the drop in temperatures with nightfall. The researchers found abrupt nighttime temperature drops due to the glacier’s high altitude, which caused the explosive crevasses.
In conclusion, the reason Mount Everest roars is because global warming is changing the temperature of the ice so much, it’s as if the mountain is screaming in pain. This research not only contributes to our understanding of glacier behavior, but also builds on the growing body of knowledge about the impact of climate change on these systems, which are so important to the balance of life on Earth. This is the behavior of glaciers as the effects of climate change continually warm the planet. “The local ice turns out to be very sensitive to this high rate of change,” explains Podolskiy.
