Reconstructing Greater India
Paleogeographic, kinematic, and geodynamic perspectives
Douwe van Hinsbergen1, Pete Lippert2, Shihu Li3 Wentao Huang4, Eldert Advokaat1, and Wim Spakman1
1. Utrecht University, the Netherlands; 2. University of Utah, USA; 3. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing; 4. University of Rochester, USA
Kinematic reconstruction following a systematic protocol
Geodynamic interpretation
1) Marine magnetic anomalies
2) Structural geological constraints (extension, strike-slip, shortening)
3) Paleomagnetic rotations
4) Paleomagnetic paleolatitudes
5) Seismic tomographic constraints on slab location and dimension
Greater Asia Greater India
No ocean floor within Asia
Gibbons et al, G-Cubed, 2012
-India restores against Antarctica, Australia,
Madagascar at ~130 Ma -Pre-130 Ma continental break-up occurred N of Wallaby Fracture zone
Wallaby fracture zone restores
~1000 km north of modern MFT
30°N
0°
90°E 90°E
60°E 120°E
30°N
0°
Lhasa -
Shortening
200 km
100 km Extension Strike-Slip
150 km
40 km20 120 km19
66 km24
200 km18 140 km9
260 km4
200 km3 20 km3
50 km2
25 km26 100 km30
20° Rotation
150 km5 0°6
50°6 60 km7
400 km8
30 km10
140 km11 150 km13
270 km16
20°17
<10°21
50°22 0°23
100 km25
70 km27
80 km29
250 km32 40 km31
460 km
33
530
km34
650 km35
70 km36 11 km38
100 km39 100
km40 NOT RE
CONSTRU
CTED ls
sb
10-20°37 7 km1
20 km12
65 km15
25 km28
At least some 600-1000 km of Cenozoic shortening in Tibet
van Hinsbergen et al., Tectonics 2011
Himalaya contains upper
crustal relics of a minimum 800-1000 km continental
crust that once existed
North of the modern Main Frontal Thrust.
Long et al, GSA Builletin 2011
Indochina extrusion for large
part accommodated by rotations;
increases shortening in eastern Tibet to ~1200 km
30°N
20°N
10°N
100°E 110°E
100°E 110°E
30°N
20°N
10°N 30°N
20°N
10°N
100°E 110°E
100°E 110°E
30°N
20°N
10°N Southern Indochina Block
Lanping
Southern Simao
Northern Simao
South China (fixed) Chuandian
0 Ma 50 Ma
250 k m
~600 k m
15°
35°
65°
15°
40 km 70 km
= rotation relative to South China
= observed displacement relative to South China
= inferred displacement relative to South China
ASRR
Mae P ing F
ault Dien Bien Ph
u Fault Xia nsh uihe -Xiao jiang F
ault
A B
Li et al., Earth-Science Reviews 2017
Reconstructing oroclinal
bending restores the Tibetan Himalaya to a WNW-ESE
trend at collision time m
bo mo
ko
LH
GH TH XF
C
58 Ma
Africa/
Arabia
Eurasia
Australia
30°N
0°N
Paleomagnetic Reference Frame
PPE
WA
6) Reconciling a 1000 km wide
Greater India and a 1000 km wide Greater Asia with a 58 Ma collision
requires ~3000 km extension between southern Lhasa and continental India.
Age (Ma)
Paleola titude (°)
0 20
40 60
80 100
120 -20 140
0 20 40
60 Reference point 29°N/88°E
Eurasia
Lhasa
Paleolatitudes consistent with shortening
Age (Ma)
Paleolatitude (°)
0 50
100 150
200 250
-90 300 -75 -50 -25 0 25 50
75 Reference location: 29°N/88°E
Tibetan Himayala (this paper)
India
Paleolatitudes from B
Tethyan Himalaya are consistent with position in Early
Cretaceous and
Triassic within 1000 km from MFT.
Tectonophysics, 2018
A
UU-P07 Present-day/130 km SL2013sv
B
10°N 20°N 30°N 40°N
Indus-Yarlung Suture
Altyn-Tagh Fault North Pamir Thrust
Main Fron tal Thrust
North Pamir Thrust
70°E 80°E 90°E 70°E
North ern m
argin un derthru
sted I ndian c ontinent
Figure 7: Horizontal cross sections at 130 km depth below India and Tibet through seismic tomographic models of (A) UU-P07 (Amaru, 2007) and (B) SL2013sv (Schaeffer and Lebedev, 2013). Dotted yellow line is the interpreted northern continental margin of India that horizontally underthrusted Tibet. See also Agius and Lebedev (2013).
-Up to ~1000 km of Indian continental lithosphere
horizontally underlies Tibet
-Has a sharp kink around 90°E, zone is ~400 km narrower to the west.
Hi
Su (Ca)
An
30°N
0°
60°E 90°E
UU-P07 global moving hotspot reference frame 750 km / 35 Ma
Ca
In Si
In
30°N
0°
60°E 90°E
UU-P07 global moving hotspot reference frame 1210 km / 80 Ma
India
GH
THAfrica/Arabia
Eurasia
WB
AUS
A B
shyok tr ench Indus
-Yarlung tr ench
India-A rabia tr
ech W
est Burma tr
ench
MCT/trenchMakran trench
S
und
aTre
nch West-Burma trench
Predicted trench locations in
mantle frame consistent with locations of
major slabs
?
Argoland
Australia
WFZ
Antarctica Africa
Arabia
Mad
S
India
LH GH
TH Ka
170 Ma Paleomagnetic Reference Frame
30°S
40°S 20°S 10°S
Neotethys Ocean
B
Africa/
Arabia
30 Ma
Eurasia
India
30°N
Paleomagnetic Reference Frame
m k
PPE
WA bo
mo ko
A
India
Africa
Ar abia
Eurasia
Bur ma
0 Ma
30°N
Paleomagnetic Reference Frame
m
k
m
bo mo
ko
LH
GH TH XF
Entirely subduc ted Gr
eater India
C
58 Ma
Africa/
Arabia
India
Eurasia
Australia
30°N
0°N
Paleomagnetic Reference Frame
PPE
WA
Lhasa Xigaze forearc
Neotethys Ocean Tibetan/Greater Himalayan
microcontinent Greater India Basin
India
>58 Ma A
Cretaceous oceanic crust Jurassic and older oce
anic c rust
660 km upper mantle
lower mantle Rapid transfer of slab
to lower mantle High subduction rates (>16 cm/yr)
old oceanic crust subduction (>90 Ma)
~58 Ma B
Accreted Tibetan/
Greater Himalaya
Xigaze ophiolites
Rapid transfer of slab to lower mantle High subduction rates (>16 cm/yr)
old oceanic crust sinking in upper mantle (>90 Ma)
660 km upper mantle lower mantle
~50 Ma C
Slow transfer of continental and young oceanic lithosphere to lower mantle
Sharp decrease in subduction rates (<8 cm/yr)
Young oceanic crust subduction (<40 Ma); buckling and clogging upper mantle
660 km upper mantle lower mantle
~40 Ma
660 km upper mantle
lower mantle
Tibetan plateau shortening
Slab pile tipping over northward generating flat slab subduction
Northward migration arc;
strong decrease arc volume
660 km upper mantle
lower mantle
Lesser Himalaya accretion
Overturned slab shearing off horizontally underthrusting Indian continental lithosphere
End of volcanism
~25-15 Ma
LHTH/GH
Gangdese volcanic arc
Linzizong ignimbrite flareup
Gangdese volcanic arc slab buckling
and/or thickening
slab buckling and/or thickening
