What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate whether the high elevations of the Tibetan Plateau formed through continuous viscous flow or localized, stepwise shear between lithospheric blocks.

November 23, 2001Science

Oblique Stepwise Rise and Growth of the Tibet Plateau

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To evaluate whether the high elevations of the Tibetan Plateau formed through continuous viscous flow or localized, stepwise shear between lithospheric blocks.
Synthesized geological data on Cenozoic deformation, magmatic belt chronology, and seismic lithospheric structures across the Tibetan Plateau following the India-Asia collision (~55 million years ago).
Plateau uplift occurred across three successive stages via 300- to 500-kilometer-wide crustal thrust-wedges, while the underlying mantle decoupled along gently dipping shear zones without thickening.
Northward-younging magmatic belts indicate sequential oblique subduction of Asian mantle slabs beneath mountain ranges north of the Himalayas.
Oblique subduction and left-lateral strike-slip extrusion drove dominant crustal growth toward the east and northeast through slip-partitioning.

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Implication

Tectonic synthesis reveals stepwise crustal thrusting and oblique mantle subduction in the Tibet Plateau, highlighting localized lithospheric shear over continuous viscous flow.

Cite This Study

Tapponnier et al. (2001) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69d6871a49dce5ab9d88b458 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.105978

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Implication

Tectonic synthesis reveals stepwise crustal thrusting and oblique mantle subduction in the Tibet Plateau, highlighting localized lithospheric shear over continuous viscous flow.

Oblique Stepwise Rise and Growth of the Tibet Plateau

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Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Oblique Stepwise Rise and Growth of the Tibet Plateau

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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