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Li Y, Liu L, Li S, Peng D, Cao Z, Li X. Cenozoic India-Asia collision driven by mantle dragging the cratonic root. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6674. [PMID: 39107316 PMCID: PMC11303558 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51107-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The driving force behind the Cenozoic India-Asia collision remains elusive. Using global-scale geodynamic modeling, we find that the continuous motion of the Indian plate is driven by a prominent upper-mantle flow pushing the thick Indian lithospheric root, originated from the northward rollover of the detached Neo-Tethyan slab and sinking slabs below East Asia. The maximum mantle drag occurs within the strong Indian lithosphere and is comparable in magnitude to that of slab pull (1013 N m-1). The thick cratonic root enhances both lithosphere-asthenosphere coupling and upper-plate compressional stress, thereby sustaining the topography of Tibetan Plateau. We show that the calculated resistant force from the India-Asia plate boundary is also close to that due to the gravitational potential energy of Tibetan Plateau. Here, we demonstrate that this mantle flow is key for the formation of the Tibetan Plateau and represents part of a hemispheric convergent flow pattern centered on central Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanchong Li
- Department of Earth Science and Environmental Change, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Lijun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China.
| | - Sanzhong Li
- Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, MOE and College of Marine Geosciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
- Laboratory for Marine Mineral Resources, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, China.
| | - Diandian Peng
- Department of Earth Science and Environmental Change, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Zebin Cao
- Department of Earth Science and Environmental Change, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
| | - Xinyu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
- Laboratory of Seismology and Physics of Earth's Interior, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
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Shen H, Li Q, Tan C, Feng X, Li M, Li X, Zhao J, Che H. Collision between the northern Tibet and Tarim Block as revealed by the gravity data. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2022; 67:1007-1009. [PMID: 36546240 DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2022.01.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Hongyan Shen
- School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an 710065, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Petroleum Accumulation Geology, Xi'an 710065, China.
| | - Qingchun Li
- College of Geology Engineering and Geometics, Chang'an University, Xi'an 710054, China.
| | - Chengqian Tan
- School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an 710065, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Petroleum Accumulation Geology, Xi'an 710065, China
| | - Xuliang Feng
- School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an 710065, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Petroleum Accumulation Geology, Xi'an 710065, China
| | - Meng Li
- School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an 710065, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Petroleum Accumulation Geology, Xi'an 710065, China
| | - Xinxin Li
- School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an 710065, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Petroleum Accumulation Geology, Xi'an 710065, China
| | - Jing Zhao
- School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an 710065, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Petroleum Accumulation Geology, Xi'an 710065, China
| | - Han Che
- School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an 710065, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Petroleum Accumulation Geology, Xi'an 710065, China
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