Simultaneous Miocene Extension and Shortening in the Himalayan Orogen

The South Tibetan detachment system separates the high-grade metamorphic core of the Himalayan orogen from its weakly metamorphosed suprastructure. It is thought to have developed in response to differences in gravitational potential energy produced by crustal thickening across the mountain front. G...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1992-11, Vol.258 (5087), p.1466-1470
Main Authors: Hodges, K. V., Parrish, R. R., Housh, T. B., Lux, D. R., Burchfiel, B. C., Royden, L. H., Chen, Z.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cooling
Geology
Geology, Stratigraphic
Granite
Metamorphism
Minerals
Miocene
Miocene Epoch
Monazites
Morphotectonics
Orogens
Plutons
Shear zones
Stratigraphy
Tectonics
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The South Tibetan detachment system separates the high-grade metamorphic core of the Himalayan orogen from its weakly metamorphosed suprastructure. It is thought to have developed in response to differences in gravitational potential energy produced by crustal thickening across the mountain front. Geochronologic data from the Rongbuk Valley, north of Qomolangma (Mount Everest) in southern Tibet, demonstrate that at least one segment of the detachment system was active between 19 and 22 million years ago, an interval characterized by large-scale crustal thickening at lower structural levels. These data suggest that decoupling between an extending upper crust and a converging lower crust was an important aspect of Himalayan tectonics in Miocene time.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.258.5087.1466