New constraints on Cenozoic subduction between India and Tibet

Liu，Liang1,2,3; Liu，Lijun4; Morgan，Jason P.5; Xu，Yi Gang6,7; Chen，Ling8

2023-04-07

10.1038/s41467-023-37615-5

Nature communications   Impact Factor & Quartile

2041-1723

The type of lithosphere subducted between India and Tibet since the Paleocene remains controversial; it has been suggested to be either entirely continental, oceanic, or a mixture of the two. As the subduction history of this lost lithosphere strongly shaped Tibetan intraplate tectonism, we attempt to further constrain its nature and density structure with numerical models that aim to reproduce the observed history of magmatism and crustal thickening in addition to present-day plateau properties between 83°E and 88°E. By matching time-evolving geological patterns, here we show that Tibetan tectonism away from the Himalayan syntaxis is consistent with the initial indentation of a craton-like terrane at 55 ± 5 Ma, followed by a buoyant tectonic plate with a thin crust, e.g., a broad continental margin (Himalandia). This new geodynamic scenario can explain the seemingly contradictory observations that had led to competing hypotheses like the subduction of Greater India versus largely oceanic subduction prior to Indian indentation.

English

NI Journal Papers

Others

2-s2.0-85152022406

Scopus

1.State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry and CAS center of Excellence in Deep Earth Science,Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry,Chinese Academy of Science,Guangzhou,510640,China
2.Department of Geology,University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,Urbana,61801,United States
3.Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou),Guangzhou,511458,China
4.Department of Geology,University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,Urbana,61801,United States
5.Department of Marine Science and Engineering,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,518055,China
6.State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry and CAS center of Excellence in Deep Earth Science,Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry,Chinese Academy of Science,Guangzhou,510640,China
7.Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou),Guangzhou,511458,China
8.State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution,Institute of Geology and Geophysics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,China

Liu，Liang,Liu，Lijun,Morgan，Jason P.,et al. New constraints on Cenozoic subduction between India and Tibet[J]. Nature communications,2023,14(1).

Liu，Liang,Liu，Lijun,Morgan，Jason P.,Xu，Yi Gang,&Chen，Ling.(2023).New constraints on Cenozoic subduction between India and Tibet.Nature communications,14(1).

Liu，Liang,et al."New constraints on Cenozoic subduction between India and Tibet".Nature communications 14.1(2023).