Nanga Parbat in Motion : Watching a Mountain Deform Before Our Eyes

Nanga Parbat, one of the most impressive peaks in the Himalayas, is also a mountain undergoing profound transformation. Rising to 8,125 metres, this massif provides an exceptional natural laboratory for studying the dynamics of the Earth’s crust.

Figure 5. Decomposition of InSAR-measured velocities into vertical and east-west components, showing the current uplift of the Nanga Parbat massif as well as its horizontal movements.



Researchers from ISTerre and their collaborators combined GNSS measurements with satellite radar data (InSAR) to map the current deformation of the massif.

Le Nanga Parbat © Canva

Their results show that the Nanga Parbat massif is currently rising by several millimetres per year, with rates locally reaching 5–6 mm/year. However, the deformation is asymmetric : the western part is also moving westward, while the eastern part of the massif is characterized mainly by vertical motion.

The study also highlights several active normal faults, which accommodate the extension associated with the uplift of the massif. Analysis of the displacements caused by the earthquakes of 30 December 2019 also provides new insights into the geometry of the faults at depth.

These observations lead the researchers to propose a model in which a ductile core of the crust gradually rises, while its more brittle upper part fractures.

The origin of this uplift remains to be fully understood. Intense erosion, deep tectonic structures, and crustal flow may all contribute to it.
This study offers a new window into the processes that shape major mountain ranges : Nanga Parbat is not only a spectacular peak, but a mountain that is still moving today.





The full study is published in : Journal of Geophysical Research : Solid Earth


References :

Daout, S., Doin, M., Peltzer, G., Socquet, A., & Lasserre, C. (2017) Large-scale InSAR monitoring of permafrost freeze-thaw cycles on the Tibetan Plateau. Geophysical Research Letters 44(2), 901–909.

Doin, M.-P., Cheiab, A., & Thollard, F. (2023) Strategy used for phase unwrapping in the NSBAS MT-InSAR chain. In : IGARSS 2023 – 2023 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. IEEE, 8210–8213.

Espín Bedón, P. A., Audin, L., Doin, M.-P., Pinel, V., Pathier, E., Mothes, P., et al. (2022) Unrest at Cayambe Volcano revealed by SAR imagery and seismic activity after the Pedernales subduction earthquake, Ecuador (2016). Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 428, 107577.

López-Quiroz, P., Doin, M.-P., Tupin, F., Briole, P., & Nicolas, J.-M. (2009) Time series analysis of Mexico City subsidence constrained by radar interferometry. Journal of Applied Geophysics 69, 1–15.

Scientific contacts :

  • Pauline Meyer – ISTerre, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel, Grenoble, France
  • François Jouanne– ISTerre, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel, Grenoble, France
  • Marie-Pierre Doin – ISTerre, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel, Grenoble, France
  • Owais Ahmed – Geoscience Advance Research Laboratories, Geological Survey of Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • Adnan Alam Awan – Geoscience Advance Research Laboratories, Geological Survey of Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • Naveed Munawar – Geoscience Advance Research Laboratories, Geological Survey of Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • Ghulam Akbar – Geoscience Advance Research Laboratories, Geological Survey of Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan