Structural evolution and sequence of thrusting in the Tethyan fold-thrust belt and Indus-Yalu suture zone, southwest Tibet

Research Article| January 01, 2003 Structural evolution and sequence of thrusting in the Tethyan fold-thrust belt and Indus-Yalu suture zone, southwest Tibet M.A. Murphy; M.A. Murphy 1Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1567, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar An Yin An Yin 1Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1567, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (2003) 115 (1): 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(2003)115<0021:SEASOT>2.0.CO;2 Article history received: 23 Apr 2001 rev-recd: 07 Nov 2001 accepted: 02 Mar 2002 first online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation M.A. Murphy, An Yin; Structural evolution and sequence of thrusting in the Tethyan fold-thrust belt and Indus-Yalu suture zone, southwest Tibet. GSA Bulletin 2003;; 115 (1): 21–34. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(2003)115<0021:SEASOT>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Regional mapping of a north-south traverse from the India-Nepal-China border junction to Mount Kailas in southwest Tibet—combined with previously published geochronologic and stratigraphic data—is the basis for an incremental restoration of the Tethyan fold-thrust belt and deformation along the Indus-Yalu suture zone. From north to south, the major structural features are (1) the Indus-Yalu suture zone, composed of five south-dipping thrust faults involving rocks interpreted to represent parts of the former Indian passive margin and Asian active margin, (2) the Tethyan fold-thrust belt, composed of a dominantly north-dipping system of imbricate thrust faults involving Precambrian through Upper Cretaceous strata, and (3) the Kiogar-Jungbwa thrust sheet. A line-length cross-section reconstruction indicates a minimum of 176 km of north-south horizontal shortening partitioned by the Tethyan fold-thrust belt (112 km) and Indus-Yalu suture zone (64 km). Sequential restoration of the cross section shows that the locus of shortening prior to the late Oligocene occurred significantly south (possibly >60 km) of the Indus-Yalu suture zone within the Tethyan fold-thrust belt and that a significant amount of unsubducted oceanic lithosphere was present south of the suture in southwest Tibet until that time. An implication of this result is that postcollision (Oligocene/Miocene) high-K, calc- alkaline magmatism may be explained by melting due to active subduction of oceanic crust beneath the Kailas magmatic complex until the late Oligocene. A regional profile across the Tibetan-Himalayan orogen from the Subhimalaya to the Gangdese Shan (Transhimalaya), along with previously reported shortening estimates in the central Himalaya, yields a minimum shortening estimate across the orogen of ∼750 km. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.