SHRIMP U–Pb ages and depth of emplacement of Ladakh Batholith, Eastern Ladakh, India

A tectonic model reconciling evidence for the collisions between India, Eurasia and intra-oceanic arcs of the central-eastern Tethys

“…The acidic, Early Eocene Khardung volcanics (Bhutani et al, 2009;Thakur and Misra, 1984;Virdi, 1987), resting unconformably on the northern margin of the Ladakh Batholith, are LREE enriched and Nd depleted, which suggests that they contain more continental crust contamination (45%) than the Dras volcanics (20%), south of the Ladakh Batholith (Clift et al, 2002b). Zircon analysis from the batholith indicate ages as old as ~103 Ma (Honegger et al, 1982) with other granitic intrusions dated at ~58 Ma (Singh et al, 2007) and 47 Ma (St-Onge et al, 2010). Isotopic evidence and the lack of inherited zircons suggest that the Ladakh Batholith is mantle-derived and experienced its last major magmatic pulse at ~50 Ma .…”

Sediment provenance, reworking and transport processes in the Indus River by U–Pb dating of detrital zircon grains

“…Karakoram data is from the compilation of Clift et al (2004), together with more recent data from Ravikant et al (2009). Insert in (A) shows the range of ages measured from Nanga Parbat (Zeitler and Chamberlain, 1991;Zeitler et al, 1993), the Transhimalayan Batholith (Honegger et al, 1982;Schärer et al, 1984;Krol et al, 1996;Weinberg and Dunlap, 2000;Zeilinger et al, 2001;Dunlap and Wysoczanski, 2002;Singh et al, 2007;Ravikant et al, 2009) and the Karakoram (Le Fort et al, 1983;Parrish and Tirrul, 1989;Schärer et al, 1990;Fraser et al, 2001;Ravikant et al, 2009), showing only 130 Ma in order to emphasize the differences. Note the prominent peaks b 200 Ma in panel A, at~500 and 1000 Ma in the Tethyan Himalaya (B), at~1000 Ma in the Greater Himalaya (C), at~1800 Ma in the Lesser Himalaya (D), and at 1100, 1900 and 2500 Ma in the Siwaliks (E).…”

Early–Middle Eocene Exhumation of the Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Batholith, and the India–Asia Convergence

“…After pulsative crystallization of the LB between ~100 and 41 Ma (refs 15,17,24,26,36,37,47) with main phase at ~58.0 Ma (ref. 38) (U-Pb zircon ages), the batholith initially cooled by normal conductive cooling and then underwent much faster cooling, resulting from tectonically controlled uplift due to convergence of the India-Asia Plates.…”