Behind 8848.86 meters: breakthroughs in latest measurement of height of Mount Qomolangma
By Gu Yekai (People s Daily) 16:10, December 13, 2020
Photo taken on Aug. 26 shows the scenery of the Mount Qomolangma National Park in southwest China s Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo by Peng Huan/People’s Daily Online) China and Nepal jointly announced that the new height of Mount Qomolangma that straddles their border is 8,848.86 meters on Dec. 8. The figure, including the snow height based on the International Height Reference System (IHRS), has become a hot topic since the announcement. Affected by factors such as the movements of the earth’s tectonic plates and earthquakes, the environment of the Qomolangma region is constantly changing.
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The new height of Mount Qomolangma, the world s highest peak, is 8,848.86 meters, according to a joint announcement made by China and Nepal on Tuesday.
The accurate height measurement of the world s top serves to symbolize developments in China s surveying and mapping technology.
The latest elevation survey utilized a variety of technologies and equipment, including Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), radar and gravity measurement techniques, remote satellite sensing, and quasigeoid refinement, among other means, with many of the core devices independently developed by China. The gravity measurement used for the mission to calibrate the world s highest peak is the first of its kind.