Is the Underthrust Indian Lithosphere Split beneath the Tibetan Plateau?

Abstract

Detailed examination of geologic, and geophysical data from the Himalayan orogen and Tibetan Plateau reveals noticeable differences in lithospheric structure, magmatism, and deformation styles between the western and eastern Tibetan plateaus, challenging the widely accepted single-slab model of underthrusting of the Indian plate beneath Eurasia. We propose a slab tear model in which the Indian lithosphere has split into two slabs: a northward-moving slab subducting steeply beneath the western sector of the Plateau, and a northeastward-moving slab subducting at a low angle beneath the eastern sector of the Plateau and the Three Rivers region (Lanchangjiang, Jinshajiang, and Nujiang rivers). The tectonic boundary between these realms is identified as the Yadong-Anduo-Golmud (YAG) tectonic corridor.