3D imaging of subducting and fragmenting Indian continental lithosphere beneath southern and central Tibet using body-wave finite-frequency tomography

Liang, Xiaofeng; Chen, Yun; Tian, Xiaobo; Chen, Yongshun John; Ni, James; Gallegos, Andrea; Klemperer, S. L.; Wang, Minling; Xu, Tao; Sun, Chenguang; Si, Shu‐Feng; Lan, Haiqiang; Teng, Jun

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2016.03.029

Cited by 141 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 75 publications

(129 reference statements)

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“…Jin et al () explained the Bouguer anomaly with a model of overlapping of Indian and Eurasian plates. However, regional tomography results indicate that the lateral heterogeneous Indian lithosphere extends to the IYS in western Tibet (Razi et al, ), to the BNS in central Tibet and to the JRS in eastern Tibet (Basuyau et al, ; Liang et al, ). These observations of the front of the Indian mantle lithosphere together with other different tomography results (Bijwaard & Spakman, ; Kind & Yuan, ; Li et al, ), as indicated by the two lines in Figure , do not match the geometry of the gravity low in the Lhasa terrane.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this feature is different from the ramp‐flat geometry of the underthrusting Indian lithospheric mantle that has been imaged by S receiver functions (Zhao et al, ), and the transformation from underthrusting to drip in the Indian lithospheric mantle (Razi et al, ). Furthermore, the shapes of the underthrusting Indian lithospheric mantle from west to east exhibit clear along strike variations (Li et al, ; Liang et al, ; Shi et al, ; Xu et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Detailed Configuration of the Underthrusting Indian Lithosphere Beneath Western Tibet Revealed by Receiver Function Images

Zhao

Yuan

et al. 2017

JGR Solid Earth

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We analyze the teleseismic waveform data recorded by 42 temporary stations from the Y2 and ANTILOPE‐1 arrays using the P and S receiver function techniques to investigate the lithospheric structure beneath western Tibet. The Moho is reliably identified as a prominent feature at depths of 55–82 km in the stacked traces and in depth migrated images. It has a concave shape and reaches the deepest location at about 80 km north of the Indus‐Yarlung suture (IYS). An intracrustal discontinuity is observed at ~55 km depth below the southern Lhasa terrane, which could represent the upper border of the eclogitized underthrusting Indian lower crust. Underthrusting of the Indian crust has been widely observed beneath the Lhasa terrane and correlates well with the Bouguer gravity low, suggesting that the gravity anomalies in the Lhasa terrane are induced by topography of the Moho. At ~20 km depth, a midcrustal low‐velocity zone (LVZ) is observed beneath the Tethyan Himalaya and southern Lhasa terrane, suggesting a layer of partial melts that decouples the thrust/fold deformation of the upper crust from the shortening and underthrusting in the lower crust. The Sp conversions at the lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary (LAB) can be recognized at depths of 130–200 km, showing that the Indian lithospheric mantle is underthrusting with a ramp‐flat shape beneath southern Tibet and probably is detached from the lower crust immediately under the IYS. Our observations reconstruct the configuration of the underthrusting Indian lithosphere and indicate significant along strike variations.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detailed Configuration of the Underthrusting Indian Lithosphere Beneath Western Tibet Revealed by Receiver Function Images

Zhao

Yuan

et al. 2017

JGR Solid Earth

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“…Our dilation field in Figure b also shows several bands of apparent convergence that are parallel to the convergence direction. While we hesitate to interpret these shorter (~100 km) wavelength features in what remains a noisy velocity field, we note that anomalies on similar length scales have been observed in finite frequency body wave tomography models (Liang et al, ) and have been interpreted in terms of short‐wavelength convective instabilities (Houseman & England, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crustal Deformation in the India‐Eurasia Collision Zone From 25 Years of GPS Measurements

et al. 2017

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The India‐Eurasia collision zone is the largest deforming region on the planet; direct measurements of present‐day deformation from Global Positioning System (GPS) have the potential to discriminate between competing models of continental tectonics. But the increasing spatial resolution and accuracy of observations have only led to increasingly complex realizations of competing models. Here we present the most complete, accurate, and up‐to‐date velocity field for India‐Eurasia available, comprising 2576 velocities measured during 1991–2015. The core of our velocity field is from the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China‐I/II: 27 continuous stations observed since 1999; 56 campaign stations observed annually during 1998–2007; 1000 campaign stations observed in 1999, 2001, 2004, and 2007; 260 continuous stations operating since late 2010; and 2000 campaign stations observed in 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015. We process these data and combine the solutions in a consistent reference frame with stations from the Global Strain Rate Model compilation, then invert for continuous velocity and strain rate fields. We update geodetic slip rates for the major faults (some vary along strike), and find that those along the major Tibetan strike‐slip faults are in good agreement with recent geological estimates. The velocity field shows several large undeforming areas, strain focused around some major faults, areas of diffuse strain, and dilation of the high plateau. We suggest that a new generation of dynamic models incorporating strength variations and strain‐weakening mechanisms is required to explain the key observations. Seismic hazard in much of the region is elevated, not just near the major faults.

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“…As the most effective and practical geophysical methods, seismic imaging (Gao et al 2013;Karplus et al 2011;Kind et al 2002;Nabelek et al 2009;Nabelek and Nabelek 2014;Xu et al 2015a, b;Zhang et al 2011Zhang et al , 2013Zhao et al 2011Zhao et al , 2014aZhao and Nelson 1993) and magnetotelluric (MT) data modeling (Chen et al 1996;Le Pape et al 2012;Unsworth et al 2004Unsworth et al , 2005Wei et al 2001) have been widely applied to study the deep evolution and tectonic processes of the plateau over the past decades. Results of previous seismological studies have revealed some details for the extension Liang et al 2016;Tian et al 2015;Xu et al 2015a;Zhang et al 2015Zhang et al , 2016Zhang et al , 2011Zhao et al 2014b) and we believe that MT data can provide some indirect information to obtain a more comprehensive model. In this paper, we reprocessed previous MT data that were deployed in southern Tibet (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results show that the Indian lithospheric slab reaches farther north in the west because of the lesser dip angle. Using teleseismic bodywave data from the same profile (TIBET-31N), Liang et al (2016) subducting slab. It is worth noting that the results from TIBET-31N lack resolution within the crust and only subduction of the Indian mantle lithosphere with delamination is suggested.…”

Section: The Indian Crustal Frontmentioning

confidence: 99%

Varying Indian crustal front in the southern Tibetan Plateau as revealed by magnetotelluric data

Xie

Jin

Wei

et al. 2017

Earth Planets Space

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In the southern Tibetan plateau, which is considered to be the ongoing India-Eurasia continental collision zone, tracing of the Indian crustal front beneath Tibet is still controversial. We conducted deep subsurface electrical modeling in southern Tibet and discuss the geometry of the front of the Indian crust. Three areas along the Yarlung-Zangbo river zone for which previous magnetotelluric (MT) data are available were inverted independently using a three-dimensional MT inversion algorithm ModEM. Electrical horizontal slices at different depths and north-south oriented cross sections at different longitudes were obtained to provide a geoelectrical perspective for deep processes beneath the Tethyan Himalaya and Lhasa terrane. Horizontal slices at depths greater than − 15 km show that the upper crust is covered with resistive layers. Below a depth of − 20 km, discontinuous conductive distributions are primarily concentrated north of the Yarlung-Zangbo sutures (YZS) and could be imaged from mid-to lower crust. The results show that the maximum depth to which the resistive layers extend is over − 20 km, while the mid-to lower crustal conductive zones extend to depths greater than − 50 km. The results indicate that the conductive region in the mid-to lower crust can be imaged primarily from the YZS to south of the Bangong-Nujiang sutures in western Tibet and to ~ 31°N in eastern Tibet. The northern front of the conductive zones appears as an irregular barrier to the Indian crust from west to east. We suggest that a relatively less conductive subsurface in the northern portion of the barrier indicates a relatively cold and strong crust and that the front of the Indian crust might be halted in the south of the barrier. We suggest that the Indian crustal front varies from west to east and has at least reached: ~ 33.5°N at ~ 80°E, ~ 31°N at ~ 85°E, and ~ 30.5°N at ~ 87°E and ~ 92°E.

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3D imaging of subducting and fragmenting Indian continental lithosphere beneath southern and central Tibet using body-wave finite-frequency tomography

Cited by 141 publications

References 75 publications

Detailed Configuration of the Underthrusting Indian Lithosphere Beneath Western Tibet Revealed by Receiver Function Images

Detailed Configuration of the Underthrusting Indian Lithosphere Beneath Western Tibet Revealed by Receiver Function Images

Crustal Deformation in the India‐Eurasia Collision Zone From 25 Years of GPS Measurements

Varying Indian crustal front in the southern Tibetan Plateau as revealed by magnetotelluric data

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