Tectonic evolution and dynamics of the Tibetan Plateau

    Tectonic evolution and dynamics of the Tibetan Plateau Zeming Zhang, Lin Ding, Zhidan Zhao, M. Santosh PII: DOI: Reference:

S1342-937X(16)30202-7 doi:10.1016/j.gr.2016.09.001 GR 1669

To appear in:

Gondwana Research

Please cite this article as: Zhang, Zeming, Ding, Lin, Zhao, Zhidan, Santosh, M., Tectonic evolution and dynamics of the Tibetan Plateau, Gondwana Research (2016), doi:10.1016/j.gr.2016.09.001

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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Editorial

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Tectonic evolution and dynamics of the Tibetan Plateau

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1. Introduction

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The Tibetan Plateau, bordered by the Tarim, North China, South China and Indian Cratons in central Asia, was built upon a tectonic collage that was created by sequential accretion, from north to south, of several microcontinents, accretionary

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belts, and island arcs onto the southern margin of Eurasia since the early Paleozoic. The Tibetan Plateau consists of six major terranes, namely, from north to south, the

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Kunlun, Songpan–Ganze, Northern Qiangtang, Southern Qiangtang, Lhasa and Himalaya terranes (Fig. 1). These terranes are separated by the Kunlun suture, Jinsha

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suture, Longmu Co–Shuanghu suture, Bangong–Nujiang suture, and Indus–Tsangpo

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suture zones, representing Paleo-Asian, Paleo-, Meso-, and Neo-Tethyan oceanic relicts, respectively (e.g., Yin and Harrison, 2000 and references therein). Gehrels et

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al. (2011) proposed that the fragments south of the Jinsa suture zone evolved along the northern margin of India as part of a circum-Gondwana convergent margin system, whereas the terranes north of the Jinsa suture zone formed along the southern margin

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of the Tarim–North China Craton, and that northern terranes and Gondwana-margin assemblages may have been juxtaposed during mid-Paleozoic time, followed by rifting that formed the Paleo-Tethys and Meso-Tethys ocean basins. Pan et al. (2012) proposed that the Tibetan Plateau includes three major orogenic systems, namely, from

northeast

to

southwest,

Qinling–Qilianshan–Kunlunshan–Altyn

the

Early

(Qin–Qi–Kun–A),

Paleozoic the

Late

Paleozoic–Triassic Qiangtang–Sanjiang, and the Late Paleozoic to Cenozoic Gangdese–Himalaya orogenic systems (Fig. 1). It is noted that all the tectonic units of the Tibetan Plateau have been strongly deformed and displaced by numerous Cenozoic fault systems including the Altyn Tagh, Karakax, and Karaforum systems to the west, and Kunlun, Red River, and Longmenshan fault systems to the east. Studies of the formation and evolution of the Tibetan Plateau have been 1

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT experiencing a revival over the past 10 years with the development of new geochronological, thermochronological and isotopic analytical techniques, and the large scale of regional geological survey. After the first special issue of “Tectonic

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evolution of Tibet and surrounding regions” published in Gondwana Research in 2012, abundant new results were produced and much progress has been made by

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international geologists. Therefore, a new special issue of Gondwana Research was proposed to summarize the most important results of our studies in the past 4 years. In this special issue we present 29 papers dealing with magmatism, metamorphism,

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deformation, mineralization, modern tectonics, paleomagnetic and geophysical aspects of the Tibetan Plateau. The new data and ideas presented in these

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multidisciplinary papers provide new insights into the tectonic evolution and associated mineralization of the Tibetan Plateau. These papers are roughly divided

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into as the following ten special topics based on different research regions, subjects

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and disciplines.

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1. Postcollisional magmatism and metallogeny in southern Lhasa terrane The southern segment of the Tibetan Plateau is widely accepted as a Mesozoic Andean-type convergent margin associated with the northward subduction of the

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Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere and an archetype of a Cenozoic collisional orogen related to the India–Asia collision (e.g., Yin and Harrison, 2000; Chung et al., 2005; Mo et al., 2007; Zhang et al., 2010; Aitchison et al., 2011; Xia et al., 2011; Zhu et al., 2011, 2013, 2015; Pan et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2013, 2014). The two stages of oogenesis were characterized by the widely occurrence of Mesozoic and Cenozoic high-pressure (HP) and ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks in southern Tibet, and ultra-temperature (UHT) metamorphic rocks in central Tibet (Fig. 1), and magmatic rocks in central and southern Tibet (Fig. 2). Although the Cenozoic post-collisional magmatic rocks, especially the potassic and ultrapotassic and ore-bearing adakitic rocks, in the southern Lhasa terrane have been intensively studied, their petrogenesis and geodynamic implications remain subjects of much debate (e.g., Chung et al., 2009; Zhao et al., 2009; Guo et al., 2013). In this volume, L. Zhang et al. 2

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT (2017-this issue) report new systematic dataset of whole-rock major, trace elements and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopes, in situ zircon U–Pb age and Hf–O isotopes of the Yangying potassic volcanic rocks, southern Lhasa terrane. These data, combined with previous

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data, lead the authors to propose that the Miocene (~11 Ma) potassic volcanic rocks resulted from assimilation and fractional crystallization (AFC) process of the K-rich

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mafic primitive magmas, which were generated by partial melting of the Indian continental subduction-induced mélange rocks. In another paper, Tian et al. (2017-this issue) argue that the post-collisional (24–8 Ma) potassic and ultrapotassic volcanic

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rocks from the western Lhasa terrane were derived from the variable degrees of partial melting of subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) that had previously been

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modified by different proportions of subducted Indian lower crust. The break-off of the northwards subducted Indian plate in the early Miocene caused the asthenospheric

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upwelling under the Indian plate through slab window, resulting in varying degrees of

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partial melting of the overlying metasomatized heterogeneous SCLM to produce the primitive magmas of the potassic and ultrapotassic rocks in an extensional setting.

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The Miocene adakitic porphyries in the southern Lhasa terrane host some giant (even super giant, such as the Quling and Jiama) porphyry Cu (Mo–Au) deposits that develop during the continent–continent collisional setting (e.g., Hou et al., 2004, 2009,

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2011). However, it is still unclear that why the Miocene porphyry Cu (Mo–Au) deposit belt is only distributed in a narrow part of the 1500 km long Miocene adakitic rocks belt (Wang et al., 2014). In this volume, Zeng et al. (2017-this issue) present a geochemical and geochronological study of the Miocene porphyries in the Zhunuo region, southern Lhasa. They propose that the ore-bearing diorite porphyries were probably derived from a thickened juvenile lower crust, together with contributions from mantle, while the ore-barren granite porphyries were partial melts of middle–upper crust. The ore-bearing granite porphyries were most probably hybrids of the other two magma groups. The source of the ore-forming metals was possibly concentrated by arc-related cumulates during continental growth and thickening. The re-melting of these cumulates during Miocene regional extension, caused by lithospheric delamination, was capable of releasing sufficient metals and water. The 3

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT region to the west of Zhunuo was not mineralized due to the large input of ancient crustal material into their source. Y. Li et al. (2017-this issue) further discussed such a “lower crust heterogeneity” through a study of the Miocene adakitic rocks in the

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Zhongba block, the western Lhasa terrane. The studied rocks have similar Sr–Nd isotopic compositions to other adakitic rocks in the western Lhasa terrane, but differ

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from coeval adakitic rocks of the eastern Lhasa terrane, suggesting that all the adakitic rocks were derived from the partial melting of thickened lower crust with geochemical heterogeneity.

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The nature of the lithosphere mantle was studied by Ma et al. (2017-this issue) by detailed petrological, geochronological, and geochemical work in the latest Eocene

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(~35 Ma) Quguosha gabbros from the southern Lhasa terrane. They emphasized that an enriched Indian crustal component was added into the lithospheric mantle source

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regions beneath southern Lhasa by continental subduction at least prior to the latest

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Eocene, from which the Quguosha mafic magmas generated by partial melting. These subducted continental sediments have probably accreted or underplated into the

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overlying mantle during the northward subduction of the Indian continent. Therefore, continental subduction likely played a key role in the formation of the Tibetan plateau. This conclusion is consistent with that the Indian continental crustal rocks has been

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subducted to mantle depths of over 100 km as demonstrated by the presence of ultrahigh pressure (UHP) metamorphic supracrustal rocks in the Western Himalayan Syntaxis (e.g., O’Brien et al., 2001; Fig. 1), and with that the current Indian continental lithosphere has subducted northward beneath the continental lithosphere to close to the Bangong–Nujiang suture zone in central Tibet as reveled by geophysical (Zhao and Nelson, 1993; Owens and Zandt, 1997; Kosarev et al., 1999; Tilmann and Ni, 2003; Schulte-Pelkum et al., 2005; Li et al., 2008; Nábělek et al., 2009) and geochemical studies (e.g., Ding et al., 2003; Zhao et al., 2009).

2. Early Cretaceous magmatism of the northern Lhasa terrane Compared with the India–Asia collision zone, the magmatic processes related to the collision of the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes remain poorly understand. Based on 4

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT zircon U–Pb ages, zircon Hf isotopic data, whole-rock major and trace elemental compositions, and Sr–Nd isotopic data for the Early Cretaceous lavas from the Nagqu area, the northern Lhasa terrane, S. Chen et al. (2017-this issue) show that the Nagqu

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high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic volcanic rocks were formed at the geodynamic setting associated with the collision between the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes, and

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that the high-K characteristics were inherited from the melts derived from the partial melting of lower metasomatized lithospheric mantle, which was transported to great

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depths by the continuously thickening lithosphere, eventually triggering melting.

3. Mesozoic magmatism and metallogeny of the Bangong–Nujiang suture zone

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The Bangong–Nujiang suture zone consists mainly of Jurassic–Cretaceous flysch, mélange, and ophiolitic fragments (e.g., Shi et al., 2008; Pan et al., 2012). The

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Bangong–Nujiang ocean existed at least from the Carboniferous to Early Cretaceous,

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and may have closed at ~ 100 Ma (e.g., Shi et al., 2008; Baxter et al., 2009; Pan et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2012; Wang et al., 2015). Porphyry Cu–Au and porphyry–skarn

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Cu (–Au–Mo) deposits are widely distributed in the Bangong–Nujiang metallogenic belt. However, the petrogenesis and tectonic setting of these deposits are still poorly constrained. In this volume, G. Li et al. (2017-this issue) present new

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petrogeochemistry, zircon U–Pb ages and Hf–O isotopic compositions of ore-bearing intrusions from five typical porphyry-skarn deposits in the Bangong–Nujiang metallogenic belt. They propose that the 118–115 Ma magmas and related deposits were likely formed by melting of subduction metasomatized mantle wedge in a continental arc setting during northward subduction of the Bangong–Nujiang ocean, and then further evolved in the upper crust as a result of melting, assimilation, storage and homogenization (MASH) processes, and that the younger 90–88 Ma ore-bearing magmas were derived from melting of previously metasomatized lithospheric mantle during slab tear and break-off after the Lhasa–Qiangtang collision. In another paper, Xu et al. (2017-this issue) conduct a study for the newly discovered Early Cretaceous mafic dykes intruded into the extensional accretionary prism in the western Bangong–Nujiang suture zone. They propose that the mafic 5

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT dykes were formed during the northward subduction of a spreading ridge of the Bangong–Nujiang Tethyan Ocean. The ridge subduction event was also responsible for the generation of coeval adakites, intermediate–felsic intrusions, the bimodal

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volcanic rocks as well as the metallogenesis of the Duolong porphyry Cu–Au deposit.

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4, Magmatism of the Qiangtang terrane

The Qiangtang terrane in central Tibet is divided into the Southern and Northern Qiangtang terranes by the Longmu Co–Shuanghu suture zone (Fig. 1), which

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represents the remnants of the Paleo-Tethyan ocean and records its Cambrian–Triassic history (e.g., Li et al., 2008; Pan et al., 2012; Zhai et al., 2013; Hu et al., 2014). B.

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Wang et al. (2017-this issue) propose, based on new zircon U–Pb ages, Hf isotopic compositions, and geochemical data for the Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous basalt,

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andesite, dacite, and rhyolite in the Qiangtang terrane, that the basalts originated from

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partial melting of a lithospheric mantle source, metasomatized by subduction-related fluids, the andesites were derived from hydrous basalts after fractional crystallization,

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whereas the rhyolites were derived from partial melting of juvenile basaltic lower crust. These results indicate that the Paleo-Tethyan ocean lithosphere was subducted northward beneath the Northern Qiangtang terrane, which represents a slice of an

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active continental margin developed on the southern margin of the Asian continent during the Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous. To better understand the petrogenesis, temporal and spatial distribution of the South Qiangtang magmatic belt that formed by the northward subduction of the Bangong–Nujiang Tethyan Ocean during Mesozoic, Liu et al. (2017a-this issue) conduct a study of granitoids from the Bangong Co, Gaize, Dongqiao and Amdo areas. The results show a prolonged period of magmatic activity (185–84 Ma) with two major stages during the Jurassic (185–150 Ma) and the Early Cretaceous (126–100 Ma). The Bangong Co and Dongqiao granitoids were derived from a relatively juvenile source, whereas the Gaize and Amdo granitoids have an old crustal contribution. They propose that the Jurassic and Cretaceous magmatism related to the subduction and closure of the Bangong–Nujiang Tethyan Ocean, respectively and a 6

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT model of oblique subduction of the Bangong–Nujiang Tethyan Ocean and diachronous collision between the Lhasa and South Qiangtang terranes.

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5, Origin and metamorphic evolution of the Greater Himalayan Sequences The Himalayan belt is a typical collisional orogen produced by India–Asia

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collision during the Cenozoic. The Greater Himalayan Sequences, a continuous belt of metamorphic rocks that extends along the length of the Himalayan orogen, forms the metamorphic core of the mountain belt, and thus plays a central role in models

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relating to the history of major collisional orogens on the globe (e.g., Kohn, 2014). In this volume, Z. Zhang et al. (2017-this issue) present a detailed petrological and

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zircon U–Pb geochronological study of metapelitic migmatitic granulites from the Yadong region, east-central Himalaya. They show that the rocks underwent the high

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pressure (HP) and high temperature (HT) granulite-facies metamorphism and

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associated partial melting. The anatexis of the metapelitic granulites occurred dominantly through dehydration-melting of both muscovite and biotite during the

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prograde metamorphism. The granulites witnessed a prolonged melting episode that began at ca. 30 Ma and lasted to ca. 20 Ma (Fig. 3). These results show that the thickened lower crust of the Himalayan orogen experienced long-lived and continued

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HP and HT metamorphism and pervasive anatexis. As a typical continent–continent collisional orogen, the ultrahigh pressure (UHP) eclogites expose in northwest Himalaya (e.g., O'Brien et al., 2001; Fig. 1). But, only mafic granulites (granulitized eclogites) occur in central Himalaya (Lombardo and Rolfo, 2000; Groppo et al., 2007; Cottle et al., 2009; Corrie et al., 2010). Moreover, the peak metamorphic P–T condition and age of the granulitized eclogites are still controversial (Liu et al., 2005; Groppo et al., 2007). In this volume, Y. Wang et al. (2017-this issue) report the discovery of omphacite firstly in the granulitized eclogites at Dinggye, central Himalaya. Phase equilibria modeling and associated geothermometer predict that the minimum P–T conditions for peak eclogite-facies stage are 720–760 °C and 20–21 kbar (Fig. 3). Zircon U–Pb dating yields the metamorphic age of ~14 Ma, implying the youngest eclogite in the Himalayan orogen. 7

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT They propose that the Dinggye eclogites were formed by the crustal thickening during the long-lasting continental overthrusting by Indian plate beneath Asian continent. The origin of the Greater Himalayan Sequence and the paleogeographic position

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of the Lhasa terrane within Gondwanaland remain controversial. Based on a detailed study of the metasedimentary rocks in the Eastern Himalayan syntaxis, Guo et al.

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(2017-this issue) show that the Namche Barwa Complex is likely the northeastern extension of the Greater Himalayan Sequences, and the metasedimentary rocks in the Namche Barwa Complex represent the distal deposits of northern Indian margin, and

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that the sedimentary protoliths of the Namche Barwa Complex and Nyingchi Complex were derived from common provenance, and therefore the South Lhasa

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terrane was linked to the northern Indian plate before the Cambrian.

6. The Indus–Yarlung Zangbo suture zone

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The Indus–Yarlung Zangbo suture zone, representing the remnants of the once

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extensive Permian–Mesozoic Neo-Tethyan Ocean that separated India from Asia,

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includes ophiolites and serpentinite mélange to the north and sedimentary-matrix mélange to the south by the south-directed Main Mantle Thrust (e.g., Hébert, et al., 2012). Most previous studies focused on the ophiolites, with more limited attention

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given to the mélange zone (Aitchison et al., 2000; Ziabrev et al., 2004; Cai et al., 2012). In this volume, An et al. (2017-this issue) present detailed petrological, detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and Hf isotope data on different types of sandstone blocks within the Xiukang Mélange, and show that the turbiditic quartzarenite blocks originally sourced from the Indian continent, whereas the volcaniclastic-sandstone blocks were derived from the Lhasa terrane and Gangdese magmatic arc. The Mélange was finally structured in the Late Paleocene/Eocene, when sandstone blocks of both Indian and Asian origin were progressively incorporated tectonically in the suture zone of the nascent Himalayan Orogen. This study shows that the Xiukang Mélange did not only experience evolution during Cretaceous Neo-Tethyan subduction but chiefly recorded collision between the Asian active margin and the Indian passive margin in the early Paleogene. 8

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT As the boundary thrust between India and Asia, the Zhongba–Gyangze Thrust (ZGT) emplaced the Indus–Yarlung Zangbo suture zone units in the hanging wall southward onto the Tethyan Himalaya Sequences (THS) of the northern Indian

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continental margin in the footwall. Detailed field investigation, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis, detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and

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Ar–39Ar

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thermochronology were conducted to understand the evolution of the ZGT in Sangsang area by H. Wang et al. (2017-this issue). They propose that the thrust had probably been active due to the initial India–Asia collision and acted as the frontal

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thrust controlling the development of foreland basin system.

A narrow elongate zone of Cenozoic conglomeratesis exposed discontinuously

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along the length of the Indus–Yarlung Zangbo suture zone on the southern flank of the Gangdese arc. The origin of the conglomerate belt remains a fundamental problem

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in understanding the post-collisional tectonics of the southern Tibet. In this volume,

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new paleocurrent measurements as well as age and provenance data from the Gangdese conglomerate belt are presented by S. Li et al. (2017-this issue) to illustrate

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the evolution of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, and its relationship with the uplift and erosion of the Gangdese arc and Tethyan Himalaya. Their new results reveal three major stages in the evolution of the Yarlung Tsangpo River system, including the

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southward-flowing stage (ca. 26–19 Ma), the westward-flowing stage (ca. 19–15 Ma) and the eastward-flowing stage (ca. 15 Ma–present). The deposition of the Gangdese conglomerates was controlled by eastward paleoflows.

7. Paleozoic orogenesis of the northern Tibet The Altun–Qilian–Kunlun orogenic system in the northern Tibetan Plateau is considered as the northernmost orogenic collage of the Proto-Tethyan domain. In this volume, J. Zhang et al. (2017-this issue) review the Early Paleozoic metamorphism in northern Tibet. They conclude that the subduction of the Proto-Tethyan Ocean and subsequent collisional orogeny produced two dominant metamorphic belts: the North Altun (NAT)–North Qilian (NQL) high pressure (HP) and low temperature (LP) metamorphic belt, and the South Altun (SAT)–North Qaidam (NQD) UHP 9

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT metamorphic belt. The NAT–NQL belt mainly consists of blueschist, eclogite and HP metasedimentary rock, is associated with ophiolite, subduction–accretion complex, and arc magmatic rocks, suggesting that the NAT–NQL is a typical early Paleozoic

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accretionary orogenic belt. In contrast, the SAT–NQD UHP metamorphic belt was derived from the deep subduction of continental crust, characterized by eclogite and

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garnet peridotite enclosed within continental orthogneiss and paragneiss. The polyphase metamorphism in northern Tibet can be linked to accretion and collisional orogenesis related to the evolution of the Proto-Tethys through the Early Paleozoic. C.

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Zhang et al. (2017-this issue) present new zircon U–Pb ages of eclogites and gneisses from the Xitieshan terrane, located in the central part of the North Qaidam UHP

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metamorphic belt, and propose that the basement rocks of the North Qaidam terrane formed part of the former supercontinent Rodinia, attached to the Yangtze Craton

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and/or the Qinling microcontinent, and recorded a complex tectono-metamorphic

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evolution that involved Neoproterozoic and Early Paleozoic orogenesis. Long-lived early Paleozoic magmatism in the Qilian orogen, northeastern Tibet,

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formed an extensive linear belt of plutonic and volcanic rocks as a result of subduction of the Proto-Tethyan Ocean beneath, and subsequent accretion of resulting arc crust onto the proto-margin of the North China Craton (Song et al., 2013). C.

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Wang et al. (2017-this issue) review the Paleozoic granitoids from the Central Qilian belt, and argue that the felsic intrusions indicate a major contribution of post-collisional magmatism to the overall evolution of continental crust, and that post-subduction or post-collisional processes could also be an important mechanism for continental crustal growth. 8. The southeastern Tibet (Sibumasu terrane) The assemblage of continental Southeast Asia is attributed to long-lived terrane dispersion from eastern Gondwana and progressive accretion during closure of Late Paleozoic–Paleocene Tethyan oceans and fringing back-arc basins (e.g., Metcalfe, 2011; Cawood et al., 2013; Xu et al., 2013). Despite a general consensus on the primary tectonic architecture and accretion history of Southeast Asia, precise 10

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT paleogeographic relationships and collision age estimates remain the subject of debate. Cai et al. (2017-this issue) present sandstone petrologic and U–Pb detrital zircon geochronologic data from Paleozoic–Mesozoic strata in Shan State, Myanmar. These

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data indicate that the Sibumasu terrane was juxtaposed against northwest Australia during the Paleozoic. Following rifting from Gondwana in the Permian, the Sibumasu

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terrane collided with the Indochina/Simao terrane along the Inthanon suture zone during Late Triassic and Early Jurassic.

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9. Paleomagnetism of the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes

Despite several decades of research, the precise timing of the initial India–Asia

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contact and the amount of crustal shortening remain controversial (e.g., Rowley, 1998; Yin and Harrison, 2000; DeCelles et al., 2002; Ding et al., 2005; Aitchison et al.,

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2007; Chen et al., 2010; Najman et al., 2010; Sun et al., 2010; Tan et al., 2010;

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Aitchison et al., 2011; Meng et al., 2012; van Hinsbergen et al., 2012; Gibbons et al., 2015; Hu et al., 2015; Jiang et al., 2015; Ding et al., 2016). Most of the existing

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paleomagnetic data suggest that some 2600–3400 km of post-collision convergence has taken place between Asia and Greater India, with 1100–2000 km of this total length accommodated by north–south shortening in the Tibetan Plateau and lateral

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tectonic escape (Chen et al., 2010; Dupont-Nivet et al., 2010; Liebke et al., 2010; Sun et al., 2012; van Hinsbergen et al., 2012; Ma et al., 2014; Li et al., 2015; Yi et al., 2015). In this special issue, Cao et al. (2017-this issue) present paleomagnetic results from Late Cretaceous red beds sequences intercalated with basalt flows in the Linzhou Basin in the Lhasa terrane in order to provide reliable paleomagnetic constraints on the paleogeography of the southern edge of the Asian continent during the Late Cretaceous. Their results indicate that the southern margin of Asia was located at a low latitude and maintained a stable paleolatitudinal position (10–15°N) during the Late Cretaceous to the Paleogene, the southern margin of the Lhasa terrane was rather straight prior to the India–Asia collision. The crustal shortening occurring between the southern margin of Asia and the stable part of Asia is 1040 ± 520 km (920 ± 840 km) since the Late Cretaceous (50 Ma). Similarly, Z. Li et al. (2017-this 11

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT issue) report paleomagnetic and zircon U–Pb dating results from the Duoni Formation volcano-sedimentary sequences near Luoma town in Nagqu County, northern Lhasa, and conclude that the initial contact between India and Asia occurred at ca. 59.3 Ma, a

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total collision-related latitudinal convergence of 1450±400 km has been accommodated by folding, thrust faulting, normal faulting, crustal thickening, and

between the Lhasa terrane and stable Asia.

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southeastward continental extrusion of the Indochina block from the eastern syntaxis

The paleogeographic position of the Qiangtang terrane in Cretaceous has very

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important significance in studying the evolution of the Bangong–Nujiang Ocean, the continental shortening and the rotation model of the central Tibet caused by the

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collision between the Qiangtang–Lhasa terranes. Based on the new results obtained from a combined study including the paleomagnetism and geochronology on ~100 Ma

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volcanic rocks and Late Cretaceous red beds in the Gerze area, southern Qiangtang

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terrane, W. Chen et al. (2017-this issue) propose that an ~550 km N–S convergence between the Qiangtang and Lhasa terranes happened after ~100 Ma, and that the

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Gerze area had experienced a significant counterclockwise rotation after ~100 Ma, which is most likely caused by the India–Asia collision.

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10. Geophysics of the Tibetan Plateau The complexity of the Himalayan–Tibetan lithospheric deformation is evident from widespread seismicity and diverse focal mechanism solutions. In this volume, Bai et al. (2017-this issue) estimate focal depths and focal mechanism solutions of 97 shallow earthquakes in the Tibetan Plateau using teleseismic P-wave modeling. They show that earthquakes in central Tibet are restricted to the upper crust and originate dominantly by strike-slip faulting. In northern and southern Tibet, earthquakes appear to be distributed throughout the thickness of the crust and exhibit dominantly reverse faulting. They conclude that the seismogenic thickness is rather flat for central and northeastern Tibet and highly variable along the strike of the Himalayan foreland. The northeastern Tibetan plateau is undergoing young deformation that has been noticed for a long time. Wu et al. (2017-this issue) conduct a passive-source seismic 12

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT profile with 22 stations in NE Tibet, which shows that low shear-wave velocities beneath the Songpan–Ganze block are widespread in the middle-to-lower crust. They propose that the low velocity zone is attributed to partial melting. Across the North

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Kunlun fault, there is no crustal low velocity zone found beneath the Kunlun block. This structural difference may have already existed before the collision of the two

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blocks, or due to limit of the northward extension for the crustal low velocity zone across the North Kunlun fault.

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11. Neo-tectonics of the Tibetan Plateau

The Longmu–Gozha Co left-lateral strike-slip fault system (LGCF), consisting of

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clear and distinct left-stepping en-echelon faults, remains a key region to understand the kinematics and the tectonic history of the westernmost Tibetan Plateau. However,

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the LGCF is poorly quantitatively documented partly due to its very remote location

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at very high elevation and near politically disputed borders making it difficult for field studies. In this volume, detailed field survey along the LGCF leads Chevalier et al.

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(2017-this issue) to propose that the LGCF is active and may be the most recent segment of the ATF. The LGCF system represents the westernmost boundary of eastward extrusion of Tibet, which is squeezed between the two major strike-slip

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faults on the plateau, the left-lateral Altyn Tagh Fault and the right-lateral Karakorum Fault (Fig. 1). The two faults together control the evolution of that remote part of the Tibetan Plateau.

Western Tibet, between the Karakorum fault and the Gozha–Longmu Co fault system, is mostly internally drained and has a 1.5–2 km amplitude relief with km-large valleys. Gourbet et al. (2017-this issue) investigate the origin of this peculiar morphology by combining a topography analysis and a study of the Cenozoic sedimentation in this area. They argue that present-day morphology features, including km-large, 1500 m-deep valleys, were already formed by Early Miocene times, and that today's internally drained western Tibet was externally drained, at least during Late Miocene, contemporaneously with early motion along the Karakorum Fault. 13

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT The North Tibetan Plateau is a key location to decipher the Cenozoic evolution history of the Tibetan Plateau. In this volume, Liu et al. (2017b-this issue) report LA-ICPMS zircon and apatite fission track (AFT) dating results of granites from the

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Qimen Tagh Mountains, with two stages of magmatic events around ~405 and ~255 Ma, and the initial uplift at ~40–30 Ma in these mountains. This reveals that the initial

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Cenozoic uplift of the northern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau (Qimen Tagh and East Kunlun mountains), soon after the India–Eurasia collision in south Tibet, has divided the Paleo-Qaidam Basin into several sub-basins, the approximate NE–E

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growth process occurred along the lithospheric Altyn Tagh and Kunlun faults, and the current basin and range morphology of the North Tibetan Plateau took place around

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~8 Ma.

Gangdese batholith in the southern Lhasa terrane is a key location for exploring

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the Tibetan Plateau uplift and exhumation history. Ge et al. (2017-this issue) present

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the new low temperature thermochronological data from two north-south traverses in the central Gangdese batholith to reveal their cooling histories and corresponding

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controls. These new data and thermal modeling suggest that the distinct parts of Gangdese batholith underwent different cooling histories resulted from various

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dynamic mechanisms.

Acknowledgements We thank all the authors of the papers assembled in this special issue of Gondwana Research for contributing their high quality works. We are grateful to the following reviewers who volunteered their time and efforts: Alexander Webb, Baochen Huang, Bihong Fu, Bo Zhang, Chiara Groppo, Clive Francis Burrett, Di-Cheng Zhu, Djordje Grujic, Fei Wang, Folong Cai, Guibin Zhang, Hafiz U. Rehman, Hongyi Li, Ian Matcalfe, James Jackson, Jerome Van Der Woerd, Jianlin Chen, Jianxin Zhang, Jinggui Sun, Jinjiang Zhang, Jinxiang Li, L.A. Kirstein, Liang Guo, Lifei Zhang, Maodu Yan, Owen Weller, P.A. Cawood, Peter Clift, Philippe Herve Leloup, Qiang Wang, Qingguo Zhai, Ryan Mckenzie, Shuguang Song, T. Imayama, Tianshui Yang, Wangchun Xu, Weiliang Liu, Xiaochun Liu, Xiaodong Tan, 14

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Xiumian Hu, Yong Zheng, Yongjiang Liu, Yuejun Wang, Yuan-Chuan Zheng, Zhengfu Guo, Zhidan Zhao, Zhiming Sun, and Zhongliang Wu. This summary and related studies were financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation

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of China (41230205 and 41472056), the China National Key Research and Development Program (2016YFC060310) and the China Geological Survey Project

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(DD20160201).

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Zeming Zhang

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Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Science,

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No. 26 Baiwanzhuang Road, Beijing 100037, China Corresponding author.

E-mail address: [email protected]; [email protected] Lin Ding

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Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Beijing 100101, China

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Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

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State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, and School of Earth Science and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences Beijing, 29 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, China M. Santosh

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School of Earth Science and Resources, China University of Geosciences Beijing, 29 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, China

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Figure captions:

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Fig. 1 Simplified geological map of the Tibetan Plateau (modified after Pan et al. 2012) with all contributions in this special issue marked. The locations of ultrahigh

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pressure (UHP), high-pressure (HP), low temperature (LT) and HP, ultrahigh temperature (UHT), and amphibolite- to granulite-facies metamorphic rocks are after Gordon et al. (2012), Guillot et al., 2008; Hacker et al. (2000, 2005), Hébert et al.

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(2014), Rolland et al. (2001), Zhang et al. (2013, 2014) and J. Zhang et al. (2017-this

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Fig. 2. Simplified geological map of the Tibetan Plateau, showing the Gangdese

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(Tran-Himalayan) batholiths, Linzizong volcanic succession, post-collisional potassic

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(ultrapotassic) rocks, post-collisional adakitic rocks, and Himalayan leucogranites in central and southern Tibet (modified from Guo et al., 2013; Tian et al., 2017-this issue;

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Zhao et al., 2009).

Fig. 3. Complied P–T–t paths of the HP granulite and eclogite from the east-central

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Himalayas (after Zhang et al., 2014; Z. Zhang et al., 2017-this issue; Y. Wang et al., 2017-this issue).

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