Evidence for mechanical coupling and strong Indian lower crust beneath southern Tibet

How surface deformation within mountain ranges relates to tectonic processes at depth is not well understood. The upper crust of the Tibetan Plateau is generally thought to be poorly coupled to the underthrusting Indian crust because of an intervening low-viscosity channel. Here, however, we show that the contrast in tectonic regime between primarily strike-slip faulting in northern Tibet and dominantly normal faulting in southern Tibet requires mechanical coupling between the upper crust of southern Tibet and the underthrusting Indian crust. Such coupling is inconsistent with the presence of active 'channel flow' beneath southern Tibet, and suggests that the Indian crust retains its strength as it underthrusts the plateau. These results shed new light on the debates regarding the mechanical properties of the continental lithosphere, and the deformation of Tibet.     

Imaging the Indian subcontinent beneath the Himalaya

The rocks of the Indian subcontinent are last seen south of the Ganges before they plunge beneath the Himalaya and the Tibetan plateau. They are next glimpsed in seismic reflection profiles deep beneath southern Tibet, yet the surface seen there has been modified by processes within the Himalaya that have consumed parts of the upper Indian crust and converted them into Himalayan rocks. The geometry of the partly dismantled Indian plate as it passes through the Himalayan process zone has hitherto eluded imaging. Here we report seismic images both of the decollement at the base of the Himalaya and of the Moho (the boundary between crust and mantle) at the base of the Indian crust. A significant finding is that strong seismic anisotropy develops above the decollement in response to shear processes that are taken up as slip in great earthquakes at shallower depths. North of the Himalaya, the lower Indian crust is characterized by a high-velocity region consistent with the formation of eclogite, a high-density material whose presence affects the dynamics of the Tibetan plateau.     

Continuing Colorado plateau uplift by delamination-style convective lithospheric downwelling

The Colorado plateau is a large, tectonically intact, physiographic province in the southwestern North American Cordillera that stands at ～1,800-2,000?m elevation and has long been thought to be in isostatic equilibrium. The origin of these high elevations is unclear because unlike the surrounding provinces, which have undergone significant Cretaceous-Palaeogene compressional deformation followed by Neogene extensional deformation, the Colorado plateau is largely internally undeformed. Here we combine new seismic tomography and receiver function images to resolve a vertical high-seismic-velocity anomaly beneath the west-central plateau that extends more than 200?km in depth. The upper surface of this anomaly is seismically defined by a dipping interface extending from the lower crust to depths of 70-90?km. The base of the continental crust above the anomaly has a similar shape, with an elevated Moho. We interpret these seismic structures as a continuing regional, delamination-style foundering of lower crust and continental lithosphere. This implies that Pliocene (2.6-5.3?Myr ago) uplift of the plateau and the magmatism on its margins are intimately tied to continuing deep lithospheric processes. Petrologic and geochemical observations indicate that late Cretaceous-Palaeogene (～90-40?Myr ago) low-angle subduction hydrated and probably weakened much of the Proterozoic tectospheric mantle beneath the Colorado plateau. We suggest that mid-Cenozoic (～35-25?Myr ago) to Recent magmatic infiltration subsequently imparted negative compositional buoyancy to the base and sides of the Colorado plateau upper mantle, triggering downwelling. The patterns of magmatic activity suggest that previous such events have progressively removed the Colorado plateau lithosphere inward from its margins, and have driven uplift. Using Grand Canyon incision rates and Pliocene basaltic volcanism patterns, we suggest that this particular event has been active over the past ～6?Myr.     

Constant elevation of southern Tibet over the past 15 million years

The uplift of the Tibetan plateau, an area that is 2,000 km wide, to an altitude of about 5,000 m has been shown to modify global climate and to influence monsoon intensity. Mechanical and thermal models for homogeneous thickening of the lithosphere make specific predictions about uplift rates of the Tibetan plateau, but the precise history of the uplift of the plateau has yet to be confirmed by observations. Here we present well-preserved fossil leaf assemblages from the Namling basin, southern Tibet, dated to approximately 15 Myr ago, which allow us to reconstruct the temperatures within the basin at that time. Using a numerical general circulation model to estimate moist static energy at the location of the fossil leaves, we reconstruct the elevation of the Namling basin 15 Myr ago to be 4,689 +/- 895 m or 4,638 +/- 847 m, depending on the reference data used. This is comparable to the present-day altitude of 4,600 m. We conclude that the elevation of the southern Tibetan plateau probably has remained unchanged for the past 15 Myr.     

Evolution of Asian monsoons and phased uplift of the Himalaya-Tibetan plateau since Late Miocene times

The climates of Asia are affected significantly by the extent and height of the Himalayan mountains and the Tibetan plateau. Uplift of this region began about 50 Myr ago, and further significant increases in altitude of the Tibetan plateau are thought to have occurred about 10-8 Myr ago, or more recently. However, the climatic consequences of this uplift remain unclear. Here we use records of aeolian sediments from China and marine sediments from the Indian and North Pacific oceans to identify three stages of evolution of Asian climates: first, enhanced aridity in the Asian interior and onset of the Indian and east Asian monsoons, about 9-8 Myr ago; next, continued intensification of the east Asian summer and winter monsoons, together with increased dust transport to the North Pacific Ocean, about 3.6-2.6 Myr ago; and last, increased variability and possible weakening of the Indian and east Asian summer monsoons and continued strengthening of the east Asian winter monsoon since about 2.6 Myr ago. The results of a numerical climate-model experiment, using idealized stepwise increases of mountain-plateau elevation, support the argument that the stages in evolution of Asian monsoons are linked to phases of Himalaya-Tibetan plateau uplift and to Northern Hemisphere glaciation.     

Numerical simulation of GPS observed clockwise rotation around the eastern Himalayan syntax in the Tibetan Plateau

From Global Position System (GPS) measurements, there is a clockwise rotation around the eastern Himalayan syntax in the Tibetan Plateau. This phenomenon is difficult to be interpreted by simple two-dimensional modeling from a geodynamic point of view. Because of the extremely thick crust and the lower crust with relatively high temperature in the Tibetan Plateau, the lithospheric rheology in Tibet and surrounding areas present a complex structure. In general, the tectonic structure of the Tibetan Plateau consists of brittle upper crust, ductile lower crust, high viscosity lithospheric upper mantle, and low viscosity asthenosphere, the same as the case in many other continental regions. However, the lower crust in the Tibetan Plateau is much more ductile with a lower viscosity than those of its surroundings at the same depth, and the effective viscosity is low along the collision fault zone. In this study, we construct a three-dimensional Maxwell visco-elastic model in spherical coordinate system, and simulate the deformation process of the Tibetan Plateau driven by a continuous push from the Indian plate. The results show that the existence of the soft lower crust under the plateau makes the entire plateau uplift as a whole, and the Himalayas and the eastern Himalayan syntax uplift faster. Since the lower crust of surrounding blocks is harder except in the southeastern corner where the high-temperature material is much softer and forms an exit channel for material transfer, after the whole plateau reaches a certain height, the lower crustal and upper mantle material begins to move eastward or southeastward and drag the upper crust to behave same way. Thus, from the macroscopic point of view, a relative rigid motion of the plateau with a clockwise rotation around the eastern Himalayan syntax is developed. Supported by Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX2-YW-123) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40774048 and 90814014)     

Active foundering of a continental arc root beneath the southern Sierra Nevada in California

Seismic data provide images of crust-mantle interactions during ongoing removal of the dense batholithic root beneath the southern Sierra Nevada mountains in California. The removal appears to have initiated between 10 and 3 Myr ago with a Rayleigh-Taylor-type instability, but with a pronounced asymmetric flow into a mantle downwelling (drip) beneath the adjacent Great Valley. A nearly horizontal shear zone accommodated the detachment of the ultramafic root from its granitoid batholith. With continuing flow into the mantle drip, viscous drag at the base of the remaining approximately 35-km-thick crust has thickened the crust by approximately 7 km in a narrow welt beneath the western flank of the range. Adjacent to the welt and at the top of the drip, a V-shaped cone of crust is being dragged down tens of kilometres into the core of the mantle drip, causing the disappearance of the Moho in the seismic images. Viscous coupling between the crust and mantle is therefore apparently driving present-day surface subsidence.     

面波波形反演中的模拟退火法

采用求解非线性全局优化问题的模拟退火法作为反演手段 ,对面波波形进行反演 ,研究青藏高原地壳上地幔速度结构。通过青藏高原的面波波形振幅谱显示出在周期为 2 0 s和4 0 s时存在两个极小值 ,这可能是由地壳中存在低速层引起的。面波波形反演得到的速度模型也证实了青藏高原在 2 0 km深度左右普遍存在低速层 ;喜马拉雅山造山带在 6 0 km深度附近也存在一低速层。壳内低速层是青藏高原变形及隆升过程最重要的动力学边界条件之一     

Palaeo-altimetry of the late Eocene to Miocene Lunpola basin, central Tibet

The elevation history of the Tibetan plateau provides direct insight into the tectonic processes associated with continent-continent collisions. Here we present oxygen-isotope-based estimates of the palaeo-altimetry of late Eocene and younger deposits of the Lunpola basin in the centre of the plateau, which indicate that the surface of Tibet has been at an elevation of more than 4 kilometres for at least the past 35 million years. We conclude that crustal, but not mantle, thickening models, combined with plate-kinematic solutions of India-Asia convergence, are compatible with palaeo-elevation estimates across the Tibetan plateau.     

Mantle compensation of active metamorphic core complexes at Woodlark rift in Papua New Guinea

In many highly extended rifts on the Earth, tectonic removal of the upper crust exhumes mid-crustal rocks, producing metamorphic core complexes. These structures allow the upper continental crust to accommodate tens of kilometres of extension, but it is not clear how the lower crust and underlying mantle respond. Also, despite removal of the upper crust, such core complexes remain both topographically high and in isostatic equilibrium. Because many core complexes in the western United States are underlain by a flat Moho discontinuity, it has been widely assumed that their elevation is supported by flow in the lower crust or by magmatic underplating. These processes should decouple upper-crust extension from that in the mantle. In contrast, here we present seismic observations of metamorphic core complexes of the western Woodlark rift that show the overall crust to be thinned beneath regions of greatest surface extension. These core complexes are actively being exhumed at a rate of 5-10 km Myr(-1), and the thinning of the underlying crust appears to be compensated by mantle rocks of anomalously low density, as indicated by low seismic velocities. We conclude that, at least in this case, the development of metamorphic core complexes and the accommodation of high extension is not purely a crustal phenomenon, but must involve mantle extension.     

Seismic evidence for catastrophic slab loss beneath Kamchatka

In the northwest Pacific Ocean, a sharp corner in the boundary between the Pacific plate and the North American plate joins a subduction zone running along the southern half of the Kamchatka peninsula with a region of transcurrent motion along the western Aleutian arc. Here we present images of the seismic structure beneath the Aleutian-Kamchatka junction and the surrounding region, indicating that: the subducting Pacific lithosphere terminates at the Aleutian-Kamchatka junction; no relict slab underlies the extinct northern Kamchatka volcanic arc; and the upper mantle beneath northern Kamchatka has unusually slow shear wavespeeds. From the tectonic and volcanic evolution of Kamchatka over the past 10 Myr (refs 3-5) we infer that at least two episodes of catastrophic slab loss have occurred. About 5 to 10 Myr ago, catastrophic slab loss shut down island-arc volcanic activity north of the Aleutian-Kamchatka junction. A later episode of slab loss, since about 2 Myr ago, seems to be related to the activity of the world's most productive island-arc volcano, Klyuchevskoy. Removal of lithospheric mantle is commonly discussed in the context of a continental collision, but our findings imply that episodes of slab detachment and loss are also important agents in the evolution of oceanic convergent margins.     

Subduction and collision processes in the Central Andes constrained by converted seismic phases

The Central Andes are the Earth's highest mountain belt formed by ocean-continent collision. Most of this uplift is thought to have occurred in the past 20 Myr, owing mainly to thickening of the continental crust, dominated by tectonic shortening. Here we use P-to-S (compressional-to-shear) converted teleseismic waves observed on several temporary networks in the Central Andes to image the deep structure associated with these tectonic processes. We find that the Moho (the Mohorovici? discontinuity--generally thought to separate crust from mantle) ranges from a depth of 75 km under the Altiplano plateau to 50 km beneath the 4-km-high Puna plateau. This relatively thin crust below such a high-elevation region indicates that thinning of the lithospheric mantle may have contributed to the uplift of the Puna plateau. We have also imaged the subducted crust of the Nazca oceanic plate down to 120 km depth, where it becomes invisible to converted teleseismic waves, probably owing to completion of the gabbro-eclogite transformation; this is direct evidence for the presence of kinetically delayed metamorphic reactions in subducting plates. Most of the intermediate-depth seismicity in the subducting plate stops at 120 km depth as well, suggesting a relation with this transformation. We see an intracrustal low-velocity zone, 10-20 km thick, below the entire Altiplano and Puna plateaux, which we interpret as a zone of continuing metamorphism and partial melting that decouples upper-crustal imbrication from lower-crustal thickening.     

Discovery of the granulite xenoliths in Cenozoic volcanic rocks from Hoh Xil,Tibetan plateau

Two-pyroxene granulite and clinopyroxene granulite xenoliths have been recently discovered in the Late Paleogene toNeogene volcanic rocks (with ages in the range of 4.27～44.60 Ma) that outcropped in Hoh Xil, central Tibetan plateau. Based on theelectron microprobe analysis data, the xenoliths provide constraints for the formation equilibrium temperatures of the two-pyroxene gran-ulite being about 783 to 818℃ as determined by two-pyroxene thermometry and the forming pressure of the clinopyroxene granulite beingabout 0.845 to 0.858 GPa that is equivalent to 27.9～28.3 km depth respectively. It indicates that these granulite xenoliths represent thesamples from the middle part of the thickened Tibetan crust. This discovery is important and significant to making further discussion onthe component and thermal regime of the deep crust of the Tibetan plateau.     

Evidence of crustal ＇channel flow＇ in the eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau from MT measurements

Magnetotelluric （MT） survey has been carried out in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and its neighboring Shimian-Leshan area, Sichuan Province. Analysis of this MT data reveals that the electric structure of the Tibetan Plateau differ much from that of the Sichuan block. In general, the electric resistivity of crust beneath the Sichuan block in the east is larger than that of the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau in the west. The crust of the plateau is divided into upper, middle, and lower layers. The middle crust is a low resistivity layer with minimum down to 3-10Ωm about 10-15 km thick. It presumably contains partial melt and/or salt-bearing fluids with low viscosity, prone to deform and flow, producing a ＂channel flow＂ under the southeastward squeeze of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. This low-resistivity layer makes the upper crust decoupled mechanically from the lower crust. In the brittle upper crust, faults are dominated by left-lateral strike-slip and thrust motions, leading to surface rising and shallow earthquakes. The low-resistivity layer also cut the Xianshuihe-Anninghe fault zone into two sections vertically. In this region, the thicknesses of upper, middle, and lower crust vary laterally, producing a transitional zone in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau characterized by thicker crust and higher elevation in the west and thinner crust and lower elevation in the east.     

Geophysics: hot fluids or rock in eclogite metamorphism?

The mechanisms by which mafic rocks become converted to denser eclogite in the lower crust and mantle are fundamental to our understanding of subduction, mountain building and the long-term geochemical evolution of Earth. Based on larger-than-expected gradients in argon isotopes, Camacho et al. propose a new explanation--co-seismic injection of hot (700 degrees C) aqueous fluids into much colder (400 degrees C) crust--for the localized nature of eclogite metamorphism during Caledonian crustal thickening, as recorded in the rocks of Holsn?y in the Bergen arcs, western Norway. We have studied these unusual rocks, which were thoroughly dehydrated under granulite facies conditions during a Neoproterozoic event (about 945 million years (945 Myr) ago); we also concluded that fracture-hosted fluids were essential as catalysts and components in the conversion to eclogite about 425 Myr ago. However, we are sceptical of the assertion by Camacho et al. that eclogite temperatures were reached only in the vicinity of fluid-filled fractures. Determining whether these rocks were strong enough to fracture at depths of 50 km because they were cold or because they were very dry is crucial to understanding the mechanics of the lower crust in mountain belts, including, for example, the causes of seismicity in the Indian plate beneath the modern Himalayas.     

Absolute plate motions and true polar wander in the absence of hotspot tracks

The motion of continents relative to the Earth's spin axis may be due either to rotation of the entire Earth relative to its spin axis--true polar wander--or to the motion of individual plates. In order to distinguish between these over the past 320 Myr (since the formation of the Pangaea supercontinent), we present here computations of the global average of continental motion and rotation through time in a palaeomagnetic reference frame. Two components are identified: a steady northward motion and, during certain time intervals, clockwise and anticlockwise rotations, interpreted as evidence for true polar wander. We find approximately 18 degrees anticlockwise rotation about 250-220 Myr ago and the same amount of clockwise rotation about 195-145 Myr ago. In both cases the rotation axis is located at about 10-20 degrees W, 0 degrees N, near the site that became the North American-South American-African triple junction at the break-up of Pangaea. This was followed by approximately 10 degrees clockwise rotation about 145-135 Myr ago, followed again by the same amount of anticlockwise rotation about 110-100 Myr ago, with a rotation axis in both cases approximately 25-50 degrees E in the reconstructed area of North Africa and Arabia. These rotation axes mark the maxima of the degree-two non-hydrostatic geoid during those time intervals, and the fact that the overall net rotation since 320 Myr ago is nearly zero is an indication of long-term stability of the degree-two geoid and related mantle structure. We propose a new reference frame, based on palaeomagnetism, but corrected for the true polar wander identified in this study, appropriate for relating surface to deep mantle processes from 320 Myr ago until hotspot tracks can be used (about 130 Myr ago).     

Subduction dynamics and the origin of Andean orogeny and the Bolivian orocline

The building of the Andes results from the subduction of the oceanic Nazca plate underneath the South American continent. However, how and why the Andes and their curvature, the Bolivian orocline, formed in the Cenozoic era (65.5?million years (Myr) ago to present), despite subduction continuing since the Mesozoic era (251.0-65.5?Myr ago), is still unknown. Three-dimensional numerical subduction models demonstrate that variations in slab thickness, arising from the Nazca plate's age at the trench, produce a cordilleran morphology consistent with that observed. The age-dependent sinking of the slab in the mantle drives traction towards the trench at the base of the upper plate, causing it to thicken. Thus, subducting older Nazca plate below the Central Andes can explain the locally thickened crust and higher elevations. Here we demonstrate that resultant thickening of the South American plate modifies both shear force gradients and migration rates along the trench to produce a concave margin that matches the Bolivian orocline. Additionally, the varying forcing along the margin allows stress belts to form in the upper-plate interior, explaining the widening of the Central Andes and the different tectonic styles found on their margins, the Eastern and Western Cordilleras. The rise of the Central Andes and orocline formation are directly related to the local increase of Nazca plate age and an age distribution along the margin similar to that found today; the onset of these conditions only occurred in the Eocene epoch. This may explain the enigmatic delay of the Andean orogeny, that is, the formation of the modern Andes.     

Isotopic evidence for Late Cretaceous plume-ridge interaction at the Hawaiian hotspot

When a mantle plume interacts with a mid-ocean ridge, both are noticeably affected. The mid-ocean ridge can display anomalously shallow bathymetry, excess volcanism, thickened crust, asymmetric sea-floor spreading and a plume component in the composition of the ridge basalts. The hotspot-related volcanism can be drawn closer to the ridge, and its geochemical composition can also be affected. Here we present Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic analyses of samples from the next-to-oldest seamount in the Hawaiian hotspot track, the Detroit seamount at 51 degrees N, which show that, 81 Myr ago, the Hawaiian hotspot produced volcanism with an isotopic signature indistinguishable from mid-ocean ridge basalt. This composition is unprecedented in the known volcanism from the Hawaiian hotspot, but is consistent with the interpretation from plate reconstructions that the hotspot was located close to a mid-ocean ridge about 80 Myr ago. As the rising mantle plume encountered the hot, low-viscosity asthenosphere and hot, thin lithosphere near the spreading centre, it appears to have entrained enough of the isotopically depleted upper mantle to overwhelm the chemical characteristics of the plume itself. The Hawaiian hotspot thus joins the growing list of hotspots that have interacted with a rift early in their history.     

Rapid change in drift of the Australian plate records collision with Ontong Java plateau

The subduction of oceanic plateaux, which contain extraordinarily thick basaltic crust and are the marine counterparts of continental flood-basalt provinces, is an important factor in many current models of plate motion and provides a potential mechanism for triggering plate reorganization. To evaluate such models, it is essential to decipher the history of the collision between the largest and thickest of the world's oceanic plateaux, the Ontong Java plateau, and the Australian plate, but this has been hindered by poor constraints for the arrival of the plateau at the Melanesian trench. Here we present (40)Ar-(39)Ar geochronological data on hotspot volcanoes in eastern Australian that reveal a strong link between collision of the Greenland-sized Ontong Java plateau with the Melanesian arc and motion of the Australian plate. The new ages define a short-lived period of reduced northward plate motion between 26 and 23 Myr ago, coincident with an eastward offset in the contemporaneous tracks of seamount chains in the Tasman Sea east of Australia. These features record a brief westward deflection of the Australian plate as the plateau entered and choked the Melanesian trench 26 Myr ago. From 23 Myr ago, Australia returned to a rapid northerly trajectory at roughly the same time that southwest-directed subduction began along the Trobriand trough. The timing and brevity of this collisional event correlate well with offsets in hotspot seamount tracks on the Pacific plate, including the archetypal Hawaiian chain, and thus provide strong evidence that immense oceanic plateaux, like the Ontong Java, can contribute to initiating rapid change in plate boundaries and motions on a global scale.     

Bending-related faulting and mantle serpentinization at the Middle America trench

The dehydration of subducting oceanic crust and upper mantle has been inferred both to promote the partial melting leading to arc magmatism and to induce intraslab intermediate-depth earthquakes, at depths of 50-300 km. Yet there is still no consensus about how slab hydration occurs or where and how much chemically bound water is stored within the crust and mantle of the incoming plate. Here we document that bending-related faulting of the incoming plate at the Middle America trench creates a pervasive tectonic fabric that cuts across the crust, penetrating deep into the mantle. Faulting is active across the entire ocean trench slope, promoting hydration of the cold crust and upper mantle surrounding these deep active faults. The along-strike length and depth of penetration of these faults are also similar to the dimensions of the rupture area of intermediate-depth earthquakes.