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Anatomy of composition and nature of plate convergence: Insights for alternative thoughts for terminal India-Eurasia collision

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Abstract

The pattern and timing of collision between India and Eurasia have long been a major concern of the international community. However, no consensus has been reached hitherto. To explore and resolve the disagreements in the Himalayan study, in this paper we begin with the methodology and basic principles for the anatomy of composition and nature of convergent margins, then followed by an effort to conduct a similar anatomy for the India-Eurasia collision. One of the most common patterns of plate convergence involves a passive continental margin, an active continental margin and intra-oceanic basins together with accreted terranes in between. The ultimate configuration and location of the terminal suture zone are controlled by the basal surface of the accretionary wedge, which may show fairly complex morphology with Z-shape and fluctuant geometry. One plausible method to determine the terminal suture zone is to dissect the compositions and structures of active continental margins. It requires a focus on various tectonic elements belonging to the upper plate, such as accretionary wedges, high-pressure (HP)-ultra-high-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks, Barrovian-type metamorphic rocks and basement nappes, together with superimposed forearc basins. Such geological records can define the extreme limits and the intervening surface separating active margin from the passive one, thus offering a general sketch for the surface trace of the terminal suture zone often with a cryptic feature. Furthermore, the occurrence of the cryptic suture zone in depth may be constrained by geophysical data, which, in combination with outcrop studies of HP-UHP metamorphic rocks, enables us to outline the terminal suture zone. The southern part of the Himalayan orogen records complicated temporal and spatial features, which are hard to be fully explained by the classic “two-plate-one-ocean” template, therefore re-anatomy of the compositions and nature for this region is necessitated. Taking advantage of the methodology and basic principles of plate convergence anatomy and synthesizing previous studies together with our recent research, we may gain new insights into the evolution of the Himalayan orogeny. (1) The Yarlung-Zangbo ophiolite is composed of multiple tectonic units rather than a single terminal suture zone, and a group of different tectonic units were juxtaposed against each other in the backstop of the Gangdese forearc. (2) The Tethyan Himalayan Sequence (THS) contains mélanges with typical block-in-matrix structures, uniform southwards paleocurrents and age spectra of detrital zircons typical of Eurasia continent. All of these facts indicate that the THS belonged to Eurasia plate before the terminal collision, emplaced in the forearc of the Gangdese arc. (3) The Greater Himalayan Crystalline Complex (GHC) and Lesser Himalayan Sequence (LHS) comprise complex components including eclogites emplaced into the GHC and the upper part of the LHS. Judging from the fact that HP-UHP metamorphic rocks are exhumed and emplaced in the upper plate, the GHC and the upper part of the LHS where eclogite occur should be assigned to the upper plate, lying above the terminal subduction zone surface. It is the very surface along which the continuous subduction of the India subcontinent occurred, therefore acting as the terminal, cryptic suture. From the suture further southward, the bulk rock associations of the LHS and Sub-Himalayan Sequence (Siwalik) show little affinity of mélange, probably belonging to the foreland system of the India plate. By the anatomy of tectonic features of all the tectonic units in the Himalayan orogen as well as the ages of the subduction-accretion related deformation, we conclude that the terminal India-Eurasia collision occurred after 14 Ma, the timing of the metamorphism of the eclogites emplaced into the upper plate. The development of rifts stretching in N-S direction in Tibet and tectonic events with the transition from sinistral to dextral movements in shear zones, such as the Ailaoshan fault in East Tibet, can coordinately reflect the scale and geodynamic influence of the India-Eurasia convergence zone. By conducting a detailed anatomy of the southern Himalayas, we propose a new model for the final collision-accretion of the Himalayan orogeny. Our study indicates that the anatomy of structures, composition, and tectonic nature is the key to a better understanding of orogenic belts, which may apply to all the orogenic belts around the world. We also point out that several important issues regarding the detailed anatomy of the structures, compositions and tectonic nature of the Himalayan orogeny in future.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate advice from and discussions with R X Zhu, Z L Ding, T D Yao, C S Wang, F Y Wu, S L Zhong, E Q Wang, J J Zhang, J J Zhang, W M Fan, L Ding, J F Xu, J M Sun, Q WANG, J X Zhou, and X M Hu. We thank four anonymous reviewers for comments that greatly improved the presentation of the paper. This work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant Nos. XDB03010801, XDB18020203) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41230207, 41190075 & 41472192). Contribution to the IGCP Project 592.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    WenJiao Xiao, SongJian Ao, Lei Yang, ChunMing Han, Bo Wan, Ji’En Zhang, ZhiYong Zhang, Rui Li, ZhenYu Chen & ShuaiHua Song

  2. Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    WenJiao Xiao

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    WenJiao Xiao, Lei Yang, ChunMing Han, Rui Li, ZhenYu Chen & ShuaiHua Song

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Xiao, W., Ao, S., Yang, L. et al. Anatomy of composition and nature of plate convergence: Insights for alternative thoughts for terminal India-Eurasia collision. Sci. China Earth Sci. 60, 1015–1039 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-016-9043-3

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