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Key in understanding the geodynamics governing subduction and orogeny is reconstructing the paleogeography of 'Greater India', the Indian plate lithosphere that subducted since Tethyan Himalayan continental collision with Asia. Here, we discuss this reconstruction from paleogeographic, kinematic, and geodynamic perspectives and isolate the evolution scenario that is consistent with all three. We follow recent constraints advocating a ~58 Ma initial collision and update a previous kinematic restoration of intra-Asian shortening with a recently proposed model that reconciles long-debated large and small estimates of Indochina extrusion. Our new reconstruction is tested against paleomagnetic data, and against seismic tomographic constraints on paleo-subduction zone locations. The resulting restoration shows ~1000–1200 km of post-collisional intra-Asian shortening, leaving a 2600–3400 km wide Greater India. From a paleogeographic, sediment provenance perspective, Eocene sediments in the Lesser Himalaya and on undeformed India may be derived from Tibet, suggesting that all Greater Indian lithosphere was continental, but may alternatively be sourced from the contemporaneous western Indian orogen unrelated to India-Asia collision. A quantitative kinematic, paleomagnetic perspective prefers major Cretaceous extension and a 'Greater India Basin' opening within Greater India, but data uncertainty may speculatively allow for minimal extension. Finally, from a geodynamic perspective, assuming a fully continental Greater India would require that subduction rates close to 20 cm/yr was driven by a down-going lithosphere-crust assemblage more buoyant than the mantle, which seems physically improbable. We conclude that the Greater India Basin scenario is the only sustainable one from all three perspectives. We infer that old pre-collisional lithosphere rapidly entered the lower mantle sustaining high subduction rates, whilst post-collisional continental and young Greater India basin lithosphere did not, inciting the rapid India-Asia convergence deceleration ~8 Myr after collision. Subsequent absolute northward slab migration and overturning caused flat slab subduction, Tibetan shortening, arc migration and arc volume decrease. Unlabelled Image • Following 58 Ma India-Asia collision, Asia shortening 1000-1200 km and 2600-3400 km of (Greater) India subducted • Combined paleogeographic, kinematic, and geodynamic constraints strongly suggest a Greater India Basin scenario • Post-58 Ma upper mantle slab buckling induced flat slab subduction causing India-Asia slowdown and Tibetan shortening [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper we present a series of thermo-mechanical experiments on continent-continent collision zones to investigate the role of lateral strength contrasts in terms of collision dynamics and orogen geometries. Our results show that differences in crustal rheology, may lead to a variety of different patterns of deformation and crustal geometries. Upper plate indentation forms a sequence of foreland propagating thrust units made of brittle upper crust on the lower plate. The strong deformation of the lower plate stands in stark contrast to the undeformed upper plate. In contrast, subduction of strong lithosphere beneath a weak upper plate forms a complex pattern of deformation. Deformation initiates on the lower plate and forms an antiformal stack made of brittle upper crust, before it indents the upper plate. Hence, deformation is present on both, the lower and upper plate, despite differences in initial strength. The outcome of this study has direct implications to natural collision zones, where differences in strength between the upper and lower plate exist. For example, along strike variability of upper vs. lower plate shortening in the Alps are likely to be controlled by contrasts in crustal strength. Furthermore, we suggest that the antiformal stack in the axial zone of the Pyrenees might indicate a strong lower plate at the onset of collision. Our results may therefore provide important constraints for the rheological state of continents during collision. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • We study influences of crustal strength contrasts on continent-continent collision. • Crustal deformation always migrates from the stronger into the weaker plate with time. • Large-scale mountain geometries are controlled by crustal strength variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many tectonicists, the structural development of the northern Tibetan Plateau stops at the Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF). This study challenges that assumption. Structural field observations and remote sensing analysis indicate that the Sanweishan and Nanjieshan basement cored ridges of the Archean Dunhuang Block, which interrupt the north Tibetan foreland directly north of the ATF, are bound and cut by an array of strike-slip, thrust and oblique-slip faults that have been active in the Quaternary and remain potentially active. The Sanweishan is a SE-tilted block that is bound on its NW margin by a steep south-dipping thrust fault that has also accommodated sinistral strike-slip displacements. The Nanjieshan consists of parallel, but offset basement ridges that record NNW and SSE thrust displacements and sinistral strike-slip. Regional folds characterize the extreme eastern Nanjieshan and appear to have formed above blind thrust faults which break the surface further west. Previously published magnetotelluric data suggest that the major faults of the Sanweishan and Nanjieshan ultimately root to the south within conductive zones that are inferred to merge into the ATF. Therefore, although the southern margin of the Dunhuang Block focuses significant deformation along the ATF, the adjacent cratonic basement to the north is also affected. Collectively, the ATF and structurally linked Sanweishan and Nanjieshan fault array represent a regional asymmetric half-flower structure that is dominated by non-strain partitioned sinistral transpression. The NW-trending Dengdengshan thrust fault system near Yumen City appears to define the northeastern limit of the Sanweishan-Nanjieshan block, which may be regionally viewed as the most northern, but early-stage expression of Tibetan Plateau growth into a slowly deforming, mechanically stiff Archean craton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eurekan Orogeny, which created much of the high topography of Ellesmere Island and adjacent Greenland, exhibits a crustal architecture linked to intraplate orogenesis in the Cenozoic. It is generally considered that the rotation of Greenland in the Eocene (related to sedimentary basin formation in Baffin Bay) produced compressional intraplate tectonics. Deformation in the region is notably localized to the Central Ellesmere Domain and the Northern Ellesmere Domain. However, an important tectonic feature of Ellesmere Island is the Hazen Stable Block, which shows horizontal Paleogene Eureka Sound group strata overlying Palaeozoic-age steeply dipping beds. The intense deformation in the Hazen Stable Block is related to continental orogenesis in the Late Silurian–Devonian. Therefore, the Hazen Stable Block is thought to have undergone only minor Eurekan-age (55–35 Ma) deformation, while surrounding (highly deformed) units may have re-activated faults from Paleocene continental amalgamation. Here, high-resolution thermal–mechanical numerical experiments are implemented to explore lithospheric deformation (related to continental shortening) for a range of tectonic scenarios, namely, the presence of inherent deformational “scars” and rheologically strengthened crust/mantle lithosphere (both due to ancient continental accretion). This study marks the first geodynamic excursion to this high Arctic region, and we present some of the first interpretations of the development of Eurekan-age lithospheric evolution. Our results show that a rheologically strong Hazen Stable Block crust produces tectonics similar to the Eurekan Orogeny. Furthermore, lithospheric scars can generate more localized deformation and topography than rheological changes to the lithosphere and may offer a new interpretation on enigmatic intraplate tectonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The surface expression of a lateral polarity change of continental mantle lithosphere subduction has been studied by using lithosphere-scale physical models. Key parameters investigated were: the degree of lateral coupling between adjacent domains of opposing subduction polarity, the width of the zone separating the domains, and the lithosphere geometry and rheology. The model results illustrate an asymmetric lithospheric structure induced by deformation of the downgoing plates, which have been separated by a narrow transition zone. A wide and symmetric orogenic wedge overlying a region of thickened mantle lithosphere and hampered subduction characterizes this transition zone. In addition, interaction between the neighboring subduction domains caused downbending of the upper plates and resulted in the lateral termination of crustal structures and lowering of surface topography. The lateral extent of interaction between the domains strongly depends on the degree of coupling between the domains, the rheology of the mantle lithosphere and the amount of bulk shortening. The modelling results have major implications on the interpretation of seismic and tomographic data from the European Alps in terms of the crust and lithosphere geometries. It appears that an observed lateral change of subduction polarity at mantle depth can explain the variations of wedge build-up between the Western/Central and Eastern Alps. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Unveiling how the interaction of friction (μ), pore pressure (p) and normal stress (σ n) controls the shear strength distribution along megathrust faults at convergent plate boundaries is crucial to our understanding of processes leading to the occurrence of devastating earthquake and the construction of mountains. An existing density model of the Chilean margin (18°–45°S) allows the computation of the so-called Vertical Stress Anomaly (VSA) that accounts for the component of normal stress due to the weight of the overlying crustal column. A spatial correlation between VSA, surface geology and several earthquake parameters suggests a significant control exerted by the geologically-dominated density structure of the crust on megathrust shear strength. The very seismogenic forearc in front of the high Central Andes (18°–34°S) has positive VSA values (up to 60MPa) and a mafic-dominated crust, which suggest high values of shear strength at the megathrust that are partially controlled by the weight of a dense forearc crustal column, in addition to a likely dry subduction channel characterized by high-μ and low-p. In contrast, the Southern Andean forearc (34°–45°S) shows neutral-to-negative VSA (down to −30MPa) correlated with a felsic-dominated crust, which added to a presumably wet subduction channel (low-μ and high-p) configures a rather weak megathrust below a light forearc. Earthquakes here are concentrated around the Arauco peninsula, a first-order morpho-structural anomaly characterized by comparatively higher values of VSA than the rest of this segment, which is the nest of the giant (Mw 9.5) Valdivia 1960 earthquake and the southern rupture termination of the recent Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake. The ultimately giant size of the 1960 earthquake resulted from rupture propagation along a 1000km long region characterized by negative VSA values. The correlation between VSA and the along-strike segmentation of the Andean orogen indicates that the geologically-inherited density structure of the forearc also rules long-term mechanical coupling between converging plates and prescribes the possible structure of the orogen. Because Central and Southern Andes represent two extremes in terms of orogenic structure and seismogenic behavior, results presented here have significant implications for the general comprehension of processes occurring at short and long time scale at convergent margins. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Convergent plate margins occur when two adjoining tectonic plates come together to form either a subduction zone, where at least one of the converging plates is oceanic and plunges beneath the other into the mantle, or a collision zone, where two continents or a continent and a magmatic arc collide. Convergent plate margins are arguably the most complicated and dynamic plate boundaries on Earth and have been the subject of many investigations and discussions since the advent of plate tectonic theory. This paper provides a historical background and a review of the development of geological and geodynamic theories on convergent plate margins. Furthermore, it discusses some of the recent advances that have been made in the fields of structural geology, geophysics and geodynamics, which are fundamental to our understanding of this phenomenon. These include: (1) the finding that plates and plate boundaries move at comparable velocities across the globe; (2) the emerging consensus that subducted slabs are between two to three orders of magnitude stronger than the ambient upper mantle; (3) the importance of lateral slab edges, slab tearing and toroidal mantle flow patterns for the evolution of subduction zones; and (4) clear evidence from mantle tomography that slabs can penetrate into the lower mantle. Still, many first-order problems regarding the geodynamic processes that operate at convergent margins remain to be solved. These include subduction zone initiation and the time of inception of plate tectonics, and with it convergent plate margins, on Earth. Fundamental problems in orogenesis include the mechanism that initiated Andean mountain building at the South American subduction zone, the potential episodicity of mountain building with multiple cycles of shortening and extension, and the principal driving force behind the construction of massive mountain belts such as the Himalayas–Tibet and the Andes. Fundamental questions in subduction dynamics regard the partitioning of subduction into a trench and plate component, and the distribution of energy dissipation in the system. In seismic imaging, challenges include improving resolution at mid to lower mantle depth in order to properly understand the fate of slabs, and better constraining the 3-D flow-related anisotropic structure in the surrounding mantle. Future insights into such fundamental problems and into the regional and global dynamics of convergent plate margins will likely be obtained from integrating spatio-temporal data, structural geological data, geophysical data and plate kinematic data into plate tectonic reconstructions and three-dimensional geodynamic models of progressive deformation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Early–Middle Miocene exhumation of the crystalline core of the Himalaya is a relatively well-understood process compared to the preceding phase of burial and prograde metamorphism in the Eocene–Oligocene. Highly deformed rocks of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) dominate the crystalline core, and feature a strong metamorphic and structural overprint related to the younger exhumation. The Tethyan Sedimentary Series was tectonically separated from the underlying GHS during the Miocene by the South Tibetan Detachment, and records a protracted and complex history of Cenozoic deformation. Unfortunately these typically low-grade or unmetamorphosed rocks generally yield little quantitative pressure–temperature–time information to accompany this deformation history. In parts of the western Himalaya, however, the basal unit of the Tethyan Sedimentary Series (the Haimanta Group) includes pelites metamorphosed to amphibolite facies. This presents a unique opportunity to explore the tectono-thermal evolution of crystalline rocks which record the early history of the orogen. Pressure–temperature–time–deformation (P–T–t–d) paths modelled for two Haimanta Group pelitic rocks reveal three distinct stages of metamorphism: (1) prograde Barrovian metamorphism to 610–620 °C at c. 7–8 kbars, with garnet growing over an early tectonic fabric (S1); (2) initial decompression during heating to 640–660 °C at c. 6–7 kbars, with development of a pervasive crenulation cleavage (S2) and staurolite and kyanite porphyroblast growth; (3) further exhumation during cooling, with minor retrograde metamorphism and modification of the pervasive S2 fabric. Monazite growth ages constrain the timing of initial garnet growth (>34 Ma), the start of D2 and maximum burial (c. 30 Ma), and the termination of garnet growth (c. 28 Ma). Muscovite Ar/Ar ages indicate cooling through c. 300 °C at c. 13 Ma, from which we derive an initial exhumation rate of c. 1.3 mm year−1 for the Haimanta Group. The underlying GHS was exhumed at a rate of 2.2 to 3 mm year−1 during this time. The difference in exhumation rate between these two units is considered to reflect Early Miocene displacement on the intervening South Tibetan Detachment. Slower exhumation (c. 0.6 mm year−1) of both units after c. 13 Ma followed the cessation of major displacement on this structure, after which time the Haimanta Group and the GHS were exhumed as one relatively coherent tectonic block. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]