Higher Himalayan Shear Zone, Zanskar Indian Himalaya: microstructural studies and extrusion mechanism by a combination of simple shear and channel flow

Abstract

Thin-section studies of the Zanskar Shear Zone (ZSZ) rocks reveal a top-to-SW and subsequent primary and secondary top-to-NE ductile shearing; brittle–ductile and brittle extensions; top-to-SW brittle shear, steep normal faulting and fracturing. In the proposed two-phase model of ductile extrusion of the Higher Himalayan Shear Zone (HHSZ), a top-to-SW simple shearing during 22–18 Ma was followed by a combination of top-to-SW simple shear and channel flow at 18–16 Ma. The second phase simulates a thin ZSZ characterized by a top-to-NE shearing. The channel flow component ceased around 16 Ma, the extruding HHSZ entered the brittle regime but the top-to-SW shearing continued until perturbed by faults and fractures. Variation in the extrusion parameters led to variable thickness of the ZSZ. Shear strain after the extrusion is presumably maximum at the boundaries of the HHSZ and falls towards the base of the ZSZ, which crudely matches with the existing data. The other predictions: (1) spatially uniform shear strain after the first stage, (2) fastest extrusion rate at the base of the ZSZ, and (3) a lack of continuation of the ZSZ along the Himalayan trend are not possible to validate due to paucity of suitable data. Non-parabolic shear fabrics of the ZSZ indicate their heterogeneous deformation.