Lateral variations along the Himalayan arc are suggested by an increasing number of studies and carry important information about the orogen’s segmentation. Here we compile the hitherto most complete land gravity dataset in the region which enables the currently highest resolution plausible analysis. To study lateral variations in collisional structure we compute arc-parallel gravity anomalies (APaGA) by subtracting the average arc-perpendicular profile from our dataset; we compute likewise for topography (APaTA). We find no direct correlation between APaGA, APaTA and background seismicity, as suggested in oceanic subduction context. In the Himalayas APaTA mainly reflect relief and erosional effects, whereas APaGA reflect the deep structure of the orogen with clear lateral boundaries. Four segments are outlined and have disparate flexural geometry: NE India, Bhutan, Nepal & India until Dehradun, and NW India. The segment boundaries in the India plate are related to inherited structures, and the boundaries of the Shillong block are highlighted by seismic activity. We find that large earthquakes of the past millennium do not propagate across the segment boundaries defined by APaGA, therefore these seem to set limits for potential rupture of megathrust earthquakes.

[1] We investigate flexural geometry and rheology of the India plate beneath the eastern Himalaya from a new gravity data set acquired in Bhutan. Compared to the well-studied Nepal Himalaya, the obtained Bouguer anomaly profiles across the range show shorter wavelength flexure of the lithosphere with a narrower and shallower foreland basin. This new data set and seismic Moho constraints are interpreted together in terms of lithospheric flexure using a 2-D thermomechanical model. Our results suggest that the strongest layer of the continental lithosphere beneath Bhutan is the upper mantle, as it is beneath Nepal. The observed west-to-east decrease in flexural wavelength is associated with weakening mantle rheology. The simulations show that this decrease can be related to ductile mantle behavior: either hydrated wet dunite or dry and hot olivine rheology. Both models display decoupled lithospheric layers leading to an eastward decrease of flexural rigidity from 10 24 to 5 10 22 N m in Nepal and Bhutan, respectively.