East-central Himalaya Research Articles

Rapid heating (

Ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metamorphism is the most thermally extreme form of regional crustal metamorphism, with temperatures exceeding 900°C. The duration and heat source of UHT metamorphism are critical constraints on the tectonic evolution of orogenic systems. Here, we report the discovery of a sapphirine-bearing granulite from the east-central Himalaya which preserves UHT evidence. The reconstructed pressure-temperature-time path indicates that the temperature increased by almost 200°C within ~2 Ma which is consistent with rapid asthenospheric heat input. Numerical simulations illustrate potential mechanisms for such heating: juxtaposition of the deep crustal accretionary system with the upwelling asthenospheric mantle through newly developed apertures generated by slab break-off and/or associated vertical tearing of down-going Indian lithosphere. Spatial-temporal consistencies among the UHT metamorphic phases, postcollisional magmatism, geophysical constraints, and crustal deformation indicate that slab break-off or tearing controls broad swaths of Himalayan tectonics. The consequent upwelling asthenosphere may have been a significant heat source for the Miocene Himalaya and for similar ancient collisional orogenic systems.

Multi-episodes of pre-Cenozoic bimodal magmatism in the Himalaya in response to arc-back-arc settings

The Himalayan orogen preserves multi-episodes of pre-Cenozoic magmatic history, but remains a subject of debate for their tectonic settings, limiting a better understanding of the Himalaya litho-tectonic structure. This study demonstrates the protolith nature of granitic gneisses and garnet amphibolites collected from three areas (Kangmar, Cona, and Arun Valley) in the east-central Himalaya. Then we investigated the bulk-rock major and trace elements, Sr-Nd isotopes, zircon U-Pb ages, and Hf isotopes. The garnet amphibolites are classified into sub-alkaline basalt and show tholeiite affinity. Garnet amphibolites from the Kangmar and Cona areas show Paleozoic (512–450 Ma) and Neoproterozoic (803 ± 8 Ma) protolith ages, respectively. Geochemically, they display similar MORB-like trace element features and enrich in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs: Rb, Th, U, Sr, Pb) and Ta, Ti, and mantle-like Sr-Nd isotopes with initial 87Sr/86Sr of 0.667787–0.705088 and εNd(t) of 2.9–5.0. The high Th/Yb and Ba/Th ratios and varied εHf(t) (−22.3–11.0) indicate subduction-related material contributions. The geochemical affinity to MORB and slab contributions is associated with a back-arc basin setting. Besides, garnet amphibolites from Arun Valley yield a protolith age of 1869 ± 10 Ma and are divided into two groups. Group I exhibits enriched LREE patterns [(La/Yb)N = 5.99–6.44] and shows wide εNd(t) of −1.3 to 7.1, variable Th/Ta and Nb/La, and high Zr/Y ratios. These features suggest the protolith of Group I might be continental flood basalts. In comparison, Group II exhibits MORB-like REE patterns, enrichments of LILEs, and depletions of high field strength elements (HFSEs) similar to island arc basalt. Thus, the geochemical affinity to MORB and arc-like features indicates they are metamorphosed from back-arc basalts. As for the granitic gneisses, the Kangmar and Cona samples give a Paleozoic age range of 552–438 Ma, due to a protracted (∼110 Myr) magmatism. The Kangmar granitic gneisses were metamorphosed from arc-related I-type granites, by contrast, the Cona granitic gneisses belong to A-type granites formed in a back-arc setting. These Paleozoic granitic gneisses show similar εHf(t) of −7.1–−2.5 and TDM2 of 1229–1923 Ma, indicating they were derived from partial melting of Meso- to Paleoproterozoic crust. Furthermore, the Arun Valley granitic gneisses give an 1819 ± 6 Ma protolith age and show arc features with enriched LILEs and depleted HFSEs. The wide εHf(t) of −5.3–13.2 indicates the varying degree of mantle contributions resulting from slab break-off or roll-back. Therefore, the Himalaya witnessed bimodal magmatism during Paleoproterozoic, Neoproterozoic, and Paleozoic related to Andean-type orogeny. The multi-episodes of Andean-type magmatism contribute to the formation of the Cenozoic Himalayan architecture.

The rheology and deformation of the South Tibetan Detachment System as exposed at Zherger La, east-central Himalaya: Implications for exhumation of the Himalayan metamorphic core

Deformation processes and rheological changes within the South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS) played a key role in accommodating exhumation of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS). We present a study for the STDS in Zherger La, Yadong region, east-central Himalaya, to better quantify the spatial and temporal variations of the shear zone's internal deformation and rheology properties. Quartz microstructures and crystallographic preferred orientations, together with quantitative estimates of deformation temperatures, differential stresses, strain rates and viscosities are deduced from the ductile segment of the detachment zone. The mylonites that comprise the exposed shear zone preserve a range of deformation conditions that are interpreted in terms of progressive exhumation. Strain localization within the STDS is indicated by the microstructural evolution from penetrative deformation of constitutive minerals to localized deformation into quartz, which exhibit interconnected networks and high strain zones. Deformation temperatures decrease from 510 ± 40 to 405 ± 50 °C and differential stresses increase from 24 to 100 MPa structurally upwards, as indicated by two-feldspar thermometry and quartz paleopiezometry, respectively. Strain rates derived from quartz dislocation creep flow law are on the order of 10−12-10−13 s−1 and are broadly consistent with macrostructurally-derived strain rates of 1.8–5.1 × 10−13 s−1, which are calculated from previously determined exhumation rates and shear zone width. The estimated differential stresses and strain rates are further utilized to determine the variation of viscosities across the STDS. The viscosities within the STDS range at 1019–1020 Pa s. In conjunction with the published numerical modelling and analog modeling studies, the estimated viscosity data are compatible with the channel flow model for exhumation.

High-Temperature Metamorphism, Anataxis and Tectonic Evolution of a Mafic Granulite from the Eastern Himalayan Orogen

The Himalayan Orogen, resulting from the Tertiary collision of Indian and Asian continents, is a natural laboratory for studying metamorphism, partial melting and granite formation of collisional orogens. However, metamorphic and anatectic conditions and timescales of meta-mafic rocks in the Greater Himalayan Sequences (GHS) in the east-central Himalaya remain controversial. In this paper, we conduct a study of petrology and geochronology of mafic granulite from the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis (EHS). The mafic granulite with abundant leucosome bands occurs as layers within felsic granulites and is well deformed. The granulite consists of garnet, plagioclase, amphibole and quartz with minor clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, biotite, rutile, titanite and ilmenite. The garnet has growth compositional zoning and contains abundant mineral inclusions in its core. Peak metamorphic mineral assemblage of the granulite is garnet, amphibole, plagioclase, quartz, clinopyroxene and rutile, recording a high-pressure (HP) and high-temperature (HT) peak-metamorphism under conditions of 14–15.5 kbar and 780–790 °C in the presence of melt. The reconstructed clockwise P-T path is characterized by an early heating and burial prograde metamorphism, and late isothermal and cooling decompression retrogression. The granulite witnessed a long lasting HT metamorphism, partial melting and melt crystallization process which began at ca. 39 Ma and lasted to ca. 11 Ma. The present study shows that various high-grade rocks of the GHS in the EHS core experienced similar metamorphic conditions and P-T-t paths, indicating that they occurred as a coherent slab during the subduction and exhumation of Indian lithosphere. The significant melts generated during the prograde metamorphism of the GHS rocks not only contributed to the formation of the Himalayan leucogranite, but also resulted in the rheological weakening and ductile flow of the thickened lower crust of the Himalayan Orogen.

A history of the Asian monsoon and its interactions with solid Earth tectonics in Cenozoic South Asia

Abstract Although there is some evidence for an Eocene monsoon, the most important intensification of rainfall appears to start at c. 24 Ma in the Early Miocene. Many palaeoceanographical proxies for monsoon intensity are linked to wind and do not correlate well with humidity of the continental climate over tectonic timescales. Rainfall peaked in the middle Miocene ( c. 15 Ma) with strong drying after 8 Ma. This timing does not correlate well with either initial uplift of the Tibetan Plateau or with the retreat of shallow seas from central Asia. The c. 24 Ma onset of strengthening rainfall is associated with the initiation of rapid erosion and cooling of Himalayan metamorphic rocks. The progressive detachment of the subducting Indian lithosphere from the eastern and western syntaxes at c. 25 Ma to the east-central Himalaya at c. 13–11 Ma would have produced corresponding propagation of rising Himalayan topography following release of the weight of the detached slab. Rapid uplift of the Himalayan barrier, blocking moisture-laden winds, is considered the most likely trigger for a stronger summer monsoon in South Asia, which in turn allowed faster erosion and exhumation of the Greater Himalaya after 24 Ma.

Structural and thermal evolution of the South Tibetan Detachment shear zone in the Mt Everest region, from the 1933 sample collection of L. R. Wager

Abstract Microstructural and petrological data from >60 samples, collected by L.R. Wager in 1933, have been used alongside existing data to investigate temperature gradients and deformational style in four profiles across the South Tibetan Detachment shear zone, over a north–south distance of 35 km in the Mt Everest area, east-central Himalaya. The ductile shear zone, defined on petrographic criteria, extends for c. 900 m beneath the brittle Qomolangma Detachment (QD). New thermobarometry from the north flank of Mt Everest reveals a gradient from 440°C at the QD down to samples recording peak conditions around 650°C, 5.5 kbar. The upper limit of leucogranite sheets forms an approximately isothermal surface at 600–650°C within the developing shear zone. The recrystallized grain size of quartz shows a systematic increase down-section in four transects. Profiles of deformation temperature reveal gradients of up to 200°C km −1 whose formation and preservation required a combination of processes: a shear zone active for a short period (≤18–15.5 Ma) at high strain rates, with a component of vertical shortening, and a contribution of latent heat from emplacement of sheeted granites. The likely horizontal displacement was >40 km, with up to 10 km of vertical exhumation.

The Eocene corundum-bearing rocks in the Gangdese arc, south Tibet: Implications for tectonic evolution of the Himalayan orogen

The genesis of Liangguo corundum deposit in the southern Gangdese magmatic arc, east-central Himalaya, remains unknown. The present study shows that the corundum-bearing rocks occur as lenses with variable sizes in the Eocene gabbro that intruded into marble. These corundum-bearing rocks have highly variable mineral assemblage and mode. The corundum-rich rocks are characterized by containing abundant corundum, and minor spinel, ilmenite and magnetite, whereas the corundum-poor and corundum-free rocks have variable contents of spinel, plagioclase, sillimanite, cordierite, ilmenite and magnetite. The host gabbro shows variable degrees of hydration and carbonization. The corundum grains are mostly black, and rarely blue, and have minor FeO and TiO2. The spinel is hercynite, with high FeO and low MgO contents. The corundum-bearing rocks have variable but high Al2O3, FeO and TiO2, and low SiO2 contents. Inherited magmatic and altered zircons of the corundum-bearing rocks have similar U–Pb ages (∼47 Ma) to the magmatic zircons of the host gabbro, indicating corundum-bearing rock formation immediately after the gabbro intrusion. We considered that emplacement of gabbro induced the contact metamorphism of the country-rock marble and the formation of silica-poor fluid. The channeled infiltration of generated fluid in turn resulted in the hydrothermal metasomatism of the gabbro, which characterized by considerable loss of Si from the gabbro and strong residual enrichment of Al. The metasomatic alteration probably formed under P–T conditions of ∼2.2–2.8 kbar and ∼650–700 °C. We speculate that SiO2, CaO and Na2O were mobile, and Al2O3, FeO, TiO2 and high field strength elements remained immobile during the metasomatic process of the gabbro. The Liangguo corundum deposit, together with metamorphic corundum deposits in Central and Southeast Asia, were related to the Cenozoic Himalayan orogeny, and therefore are plate tectonic indicators.

The Himalaya in 3D: Slab dynamics controlled mountain building and monsoon intensification

Tectonic models for the Oligocene–Miocene development of the Himalaya mountain range are largely focused on crustal-scale processes, and developed along orogen-perpendicular cross sections. Such models assume uniformity along the length of the Himalaya, but significant along-strike tectonic variations occur, highlighting a need for three-dimensional evolutionary models of Himalayan orogenesis. Here we show a strong temporal correlation of southward motion of the Indian slab relative to the overriding Himalayan orogen, lateral migration of slab detachment, and subsequent dynamic rebound with major changes in Himalayan metamorphism, deformation, and exhumation. Slab detachment was also coeval with South Asian monsoon intensification, which leads us to hypothesize their genetic link. We further propose that anchoring of the Indian continental subducted lithosphere from 30 to 25 Ma steepened the dip of the Himalayan sole thrust, resulting in crustal shortening deep within the Himalayan orogenic wedge. During the subsequent ∼13 m.y., slab detachment propagated inward from both Himalayan syntaxes. Resultant dynamic rebound terminated deep crustal shortening and caused a rapid rise of the mountain range. The increased orography intensified the South Asian monsoon. Decreased compressive forces in response to slab detachment may explain an observed ∼25% decrease in the India-Eurasia convergence rate. The asymmetric curvature of the arc, i.e., broadly open, but tighter to the east, suggests faster slab detachment migration from the west than from the east. Published Lu-Hf garnet dates for eclogite facies metamorphism in the east-central Himalaya as old as ca. 38–34 Ma may offer a test that the new model fails, because the model predicts that such metamorphism would be restricted to middle Miocene time. Alternatively, these dates may provide a case study to test suspicions that Lu-Hf garnet dates can exceed actual ages.

Miocene orbicular diorite in east-central Himalaya: Anatexis, melt mixing, and fractional crystallization of the Greater Himalayan Sequence

The Greater Himalayan Sequence and leucogranite forming the core of the Himalayan orogen provide an excellent natural laboratory in which to study processes related to crustal melting, granitoid formation, and the tectonic evolution of mountain belts. In contrast to most previous studies, which considered the Himalaya-aged granitoids as leucogranites, here we report a Miocene orbicular diorite from the Greater Himalayan Sequence in the east-central Himalaya. The diorite consists of ellipsoidal orbicules in a diorite matrix. The orbicules have a diorite core with or without garnet-sillimanite-biotite schist enclaves, an inner shell of tangentially oriented biotite laths, and an outer shell of radial or plumose plagioclase crystals. The diorite is aluminous and calcic, shows a fractionated rare earth element pattern with a strongly positive Eu anomaly, and has elevated Sr concentration. The schist enclaves underwent high-temperature metamorphism and partial melting under conditions of 9.2–12 kbar and 765–900 °C, followed by a retrograde pressure-temperature path of decompression and cooling. The inherited magmatic cores, metamorphic mantles, and magmatic rims of zircon from the diorite yield a protolith age of ca. 494 Ma, metamorphic ages ranging from ca. 26 Ma to 22 Ma, and melt crystallization ages of ca. 18–14 Ma. The inherited magmatic cores of zircon show variable but mostly negative e Hf ( t ) values, whereas the metamorphic mantles and the magmatic rims of zircon yield variable and lower e Hf ( t ) values. Our study shows that the orbicular diorite is a plagioclase + biotite + cordierite cumulate rock that formed by the fractional crystallization of peraluminous melt, which was generated by mixing of melts derived from the partial melting of both early Paleozoic granitoids and old pelitic rocks. The orbicular diorite and the trapped metapelitic schist have a prolonged high-temperature metamorphic, anatectic, and crystallization history that was initiated at ca. 26 Ma and lasted until ca. 14 Ma. The formation of orbicular structures was probably related to decompression during the ascent of anatectic melt, and subsequent rapid cooling. Melt mixing was also a key factor that aided in the formation of the orbicular structure of the diorite.

Polyphase deformation, dynamic metamorphism, and metasomatism of Mount Everest’s summit limestone, east central Himalaya, Nepal/Tibet

New samples collected from a transect across the summit limestone of Mount Everest (Qomolangma Formation) show that multiple distinct deformational events are discretely partitioned across this formation. Samples from the highest exposures of the Qomolangma Formation (Everest summit) preserve a well-developed mylonitic foliation and microstructures consistent with deformation temperatures of ≥250 °C. Thermochronologic and microstructural results indicate these fabrics were ingrained during initial contractile phases of Himalayan orogenesis, when crustal thickening was accommodated by folding and thrusting of the Tethyan Sedimentary Sequence. In contrast, samples from near the base of the Qomolangma Formation (South Summit) preserve extensional shear deformation, indicate metasomatism at temperatures of ∼500 °C, and contain a synkinematic secondary mineral assemblage of muscovite + chlorite + biotite + tourmaline + rutile. Shear fabrics preserved in South Summit samples are associated with activity on the Qomolangma detachment, while the crystallization of secondary phases was the result of reactions between the limestone protolith and a volatile, boron-rich fluid that infiltrated the base of the Qomolangma Formation, resulting in metasomatism. The 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating of synkinematic muscovite indicates the secondary assemblage crystallized at ca. 28 Ma and that shear fabrics were ingrained at ≥18 Ma. This paper presents the first evidence that Everest’s summit limestone records multiple phases of deformation associated with discrete stages in Himalayan orogenesis, and that the structurally highest strand of the South Tibetan detachment on Everest was initially active as a distributed shear zone before it manifested as a discrete brittle detachment at the base of the Qomolangma Formation.

Oligocene HP metamorphism and anatexis of the Higher Himalayan Crystalline Sequence in Yadong region, east-central Himalaya

The Higher Himalayan Crystalline Sequence (HHCS) provides an excellent natural laboratory to study continental subduction, crustal melting and tectonic evolution of orogenic belt generated through the collision of India with Eurasia. Our petrological study and phase equilibrium modeling reveal that the pelitic migmatites in the HHCS of Yadong region, east-central Himalaya, preserve an early mineral assemblage garnet, kyanite, biotite, quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar, rutile and ilmenite, and a late sillimanite- and/or cordierite-bearing assemblage, and underwent the high pressure (HP) and high temperature (HT) granulite-facies metamorphism and associated partial melting under P–T conditions of ca. 12kbar and 825–845°C, followed by nearly isothermal decompression and isobaric cooling. The anatexis of the migmatites occurred dominantly through dehydration-melting of both muscovite and biotite during the prograde metamorphism. The melt produced in the peak metamorphic conditions is about 20 to 30vol.% of the rocks, and a significant amount of melt has been extracted from the source leading to the formation of Himalayan leucogranites. The zircon U–Pb dating data shows that the migmatites probably witnessed a prolonged melting episode that began at ca. 30Ma and lasted to ca. 20Ma. These results show that the thickening lower crust of the Himalayan orogen experienced long-lived and continued HP and HT metamorphism and pervasive anatexis, supporting the models on channel flow.

Earthquake scenario in West Bengal with emphasis on seismic hazard microzonation of the city of Kolkata, India

Abstract. Seismic microzonation is a process of estimating site-specific effects due to an earthquake on urban centers for its disaster mitigation and management. The state of West Bengal, located in the western foreland of the Assam–Arakan Orogenic Belt, the Himalayan foothills and Surma Valley, has been struck by several devastating earthquakes in the past, indicating the need for a seismotectonic review of the province, especially in light of probable seismic threat to its capital city of Kolkata, which is a major industrial and commercial hub in the eastern and northeastern region of India. A synoptic probabilistic seismic hazard model of Kolkata is initially generated at engineering bedrock (Vs30 ~ 760 m s−1) considering 33 polygonal seismogenic sources at two hypocentral depth ranges, 0–25 and 25–70 km; 158 tectonic sources; appropriate seismicity modeling; 14 ground motion prediction equations for three seismotectonic provinces, viz. the east-central Himalaya, the Bengal Basin and Northeast India selected through suitability testing; and appropriate weighting in a logic tree framework. Site classification of Kolkata performed following in-depth geophysical and geotechnical investigations places the city in D1, D2, D3 and E classes. Probabilistic seismic hazard assessment at a surface-consistent level – i.e., the local seismic hazard related to site amplification performed by propagating the bedrock ground motion with 10% probability of exceedance in 50 years through a 1-D sediment column using an equivalent linear analysis – predicts a peak ground acceleration (PGA) range from 0.176 to 0.253 g in the city. A deterministic liquefaction scenario in terms of spatial distribution of liquefaction potential index corresponding to surface PGA distribution places 50% of the city in the possible liquefiable zone. A multicriteria seismic hazard microzonation framework is proposed for judicious integration of multiple themes, namely PGA at the surface, liquefaction potential index, NEHRP soil site class, sediment class, geomorphology and ground water table in a fuzzy protocol in the geographical information system by adopting an analytical hierarchal process. The resulting high-resolution surface consistent hazard, liquefaction and microzonation maps are expected to play vital roles in earthquake-related disaster mitigation and management of the city of Kolkata.

Chironomidae (Diptera) in the Himalayan Lakes – A study of sub-fossil assemblages in the sediments of two high altitude lakes from Nepal

Chironomid head capsules were identified from sediment cores taken from Lake Gokyo (4750 m) and Lake Gosaikunda (4350 m) in the east-central Himalaya, to determine taxonomic composition of chironomid assemblages over time. The sedimentation rate of Lake Gosaikunda was estimated at 0.05 cm/yr and that of Gokyo was estimated at 0.07 cm/yr by 210Pb and 137Cs dating. Micropsectra sp. was dominant in the sediments of both lakes. Lake Gokyo sediments also contained Pseudodiamesa sp., Eukiefferiella/Tvetenia sp., Orthocladius/Cricotopus sp. and Rheocricotopus sp. The concentration of headcapsules was nearly an order of magnitude greater in the Lake Gosaikunda core, which contained mostly Micropsectra sp. and Pseudodiamesa sp. These taxa are typical of cold oligotrophic lakes. Differences in lake depth, dissolved minerals, plus epi- and hypolimnetic temperature and dissolved oxygen suggest that stratification and temperature-induced increases in primary production may affect chironomid assemblages in these pristine lakes. Palaeolimnological studies of Himalayan lakes should include replicate cores within lake, to increase headcapsule sample sizes given potentially high rates of sedimentation from glacial runoff. Key words: high altitude lakes, Himalaya, Chironomidae, palaeolimnology, Nepal

The Himalayan foreland basin crust and upper mantle

Abstract Modeling of multimode surface wave group velocity dispersion data sampling the eastern and the western Ganga basins, reveals a three layer crust with an average V s of 3.7 km s −1, draped by ∼2.5 km foreland sediments. The Moho is at a depth of 43 ± 2 km and 41 ± 2 km beneath the eastern and the western Ganga basins respectively. Crustal V p/ V s shows a felsic upper and middle crust beneath the eastern Ganga basin (1.70) compared to a more mafic western Ganga basin crust (1.77). Due to higher radiogenic heat production in felsic than mafic rocks, a lateral thermal heterogeneity will be present in the foreland basin crust. This heterogeneity had been previously observed in the north Indian Shield immediately south of the foreland basin and must also continue northward below the Himalaya. The high heat producing felsic crust, underthrust below the Himalayas could be an important cause for melting of midcrustal rocks and emplacement of leucogranites. This is a plausible explanation for abundance of leucogranites in the east-central Himalaya compared to the west. The uppermost mantle V s is also significantly lower beneath the eastern Ganga basin (4.30 km s −1) compared to the west (4.44 km s −1).

Locating earliest records of orogenesis in western Himalaya: Evidence from Paleogene sediments in the Iranian Makran region and Pakistan Katawaz basin

A combination of sediment petrography, detrital zircon U-Pb, and fission-track dating is used to show that provenance of the Paleogene sedimentary rocks exposed in the Makran region of southern Iran and the Katawaz basin of Pakistan is consistent with a source from the nascent western Himalaya and associated magmatic arc. Results from this important archive show that Paleogene erosion was focused mainly on the arc and northern Indian margin, and, in contrast to the east-central Himalaya, we have not detected widespread rapid exhumation indicative of strong forcing by climate-driven erosion at that time.

The Paleogene record of Himalayan erosion: Bengal Basin, Bangladesh

A knowledge of Himalayan erosion history is critical to understanding crustal deformation processes, and the proposed link between the orogen's erosion and changes in both global climate and ocean geochemistry. The most commonly quoted age of India–Asia collision is ~50 Ma, yet the record of Paleogene Himalayan erosion is scant — either absent or of low age resolution. We apply biostratigraphic, petrographic, geochemical, isotopic and seismic techniques to Paleogene rocks of the Bengal Basin, Bangladesh, of previously disputed age and provenance. Our data show that the first major input of sands into the basin, in the >1 km thick deltaic Barail Formation, occurred at 38 Ma. Our biostratigraphic and isotopic mineral ages date the Barail Formation as spanning late Eocene to early Miocene and the provenance data are consistent with its derivation from the Himalaya, but inconsistent with Indian cratonic or Burman margin sources. Detrital mineral lag times show that exhumation of the orogen was rapid by 38 Ma. The identification of sediments shed from the rapidly exhuming southern flanks of the eastern–central Himalaya at 38 Ma, provides a well dated accessible sediment record 17 Myr older than the previously described 21 Ma sediments, in the foreland basin in Nepal. Discovery of Himalayan detritus in the Bengal Basin from 38 Ma: 1) resolves the puzzling discrepancy between the lack of erosional evidence for Paleogene crustal thickening that is recorded in the hinterland; 2) invalidates those previously proposed evidences of diachronous collision which were based on the tenet that Himalayan-derived sediments were deposited earlier in the west than the east; 3) enables models of Himalayan exhumation (e.g. by mid crustal channel flow) to be revised to reflect vigorous erosion and rapid exhumation by 38 Ma, and 4) provides evidence that rapid erosion in the Himalaya was coincident with the marked rise in marine 87Sr/86Sr values since ~40 Ma. Whether 38 Ma represents the actual initial onset of vigorous erosion from the southern flanks of the east-central Himalaya, or whether older material was deposited elsewhere, remains an open question.

Yadong cross structure and South Tibetan Detachment in the east central Himalaya (89°–90°E)

The Yadong cross structure (YCS), occurring at ∼89°30′ east longitude in the Himalaya, is the largest across‐strike discontinuity in the geologic structure and topography of the High Himalaya between the Himalayan syntaxes. It is manifest by a plan view left offset of the topographic crest of the range and a coincident, apparent, left strike offset of the South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS) of about 70 km. New field mapping indicates that the STDS intersects the west side of the YCS at Zherger La and further suggests that the YCS is the surface expression of a large north‐northeast striking west facing lateral ramp in the Himalayan thrust system. The Greater Himalayan allochthon is apparently draped across this lateral ramp, resulting in a north‐northeast striking monoclinal flexure of the allochthon manifest in the Chomolhari range. Superimposed steep west‐northwest directed normal shear appears to have obliterated earlier northerly directed STDS shear fabric along along the YCS segment of the Tethyan belt/Greater Himalayan belt contact. Recent seismicity suggests that the Greater Himalayan allochthon is still moving southward along the lateral ramp. U‐Pb monazite dates on leucogranites in the footwall of the STDS on opposite sides of the YCS are suggestive of a south‐to‐north decrease in the crystallization age of these granites. The age pattern is consistent with southward “extrusion” of the Greater Himalayan allochthon and suggests the possibility of determining an average slip rate for the STDS by dating granites in the immediate footwall of the STDS that are substantially separated in north‐south section. An average slip rate of about 7 mm/yr between 23 and 12 Ma is suggested by the data presented here.