Large‐scale crustal deformation of the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The topography, velocity, and strain fields calculated from a three‐dimensional Newtonian viscous model for large‐scale crustal deformation are generally in good agreement with results from geological, geodetic and earthquake studies in and around the Tibetan Plateau, provided that the model rheology incorporates a weak zone within the deep crust beneath the plateau (equivalent to a viscosity of 1012 Pa s within a 250‐m‐thick channel or 1018 Pa s within a 15‐km‐thick channel). Model studies and observations show a plateau at ∼5 km elevation with steep topographic gradients across the southern and northern plateau margins and more gentle gradients across the southeastern and northeastern margins. Rapid shortening strain is concentrated along the lower portions of the northern and southern plateau margins (at rates ∼20 mm/yr). Model results show north‐south shortening (∼10 mm/yr) in reasonable agreement with GPS data (5–8 mm/yr of north‐south shortening across the northern two thirds of the plateau) and east‐west stretching (10–15 mm/yr) across the eastern half of the high plateau, in reasonable agreement with seismic, geologic, and GPS data. Upper crustal material moves eastward from the plateau proper into a lobe of elevated topography that extends to the south and east. Clockwise rotation of material around the east Himalayan syntaxis (at rates up to ∼10 mm/yr) occurs partly as a result of dextral shear between Indian and Asian mantle at depth and partly as a result of gravitational spreading from the high plateau to the south and east. There is little difference in model surface deformation for assumptions of moderately weak or extremely weak lower crust, except in southern and northern Tibet where margin‐perpendicular extension occurs only for the case of an extremely weak lower crust. Our results suggest that the Tibetan Plateau is likely to have gone through a two‐stage development. The first stage produced a long, narrow, high orogen whose height may have been comparable to the modern plateau. The second stage produced a plateau that grew progressively to the north and east. East‐west stretching, eastward plateau growth and dextral rotation around the east Himalayan syntaxis probably did not begin until well into the second stage of plateau growth, perhaps becoming significant after ∼20 m.y. of convergence.