Abstract
As a result of the collision of India with Asia1–3, a thick pile of Precambrian crystalline rocks (the Main Central Sheet) was transported southwards over the Indian continent. A marked linear fabric (a mineral-stretching lineation) within the Main Central Sheet varies only slightly from a north–south trend which is interpreted as paralleling the direction of transport of the nappe3–6. Our study sought to extend the previous observations to the hitherto-poorly-known part of the Main Central Sheet in southern Tibet (China). The stretching lineation is dominantly north–south in the lower part of the sheet, but exhibits continuous and discontinuous variations from north–south to east–west in the upper part7. These variations of lineation trajectory indicate two shear components, one subparallel to, and one at a high angle with, the Himalayan belt. The recognition of westward wrench shearing in the Main Central Sheet implies a component of relative displacement parallel to the Himalayan belt and not only a radial one as generally assumed in previous models. This suggests that the kinematic story of the intracontinental deformation following the continental collision is probably not one of simple north–south convergence.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gansser, A. Geology of the Himalayas (Wiley Intersciences, London, 1964).
Lefort, P. Am. J. Sci. 125A, 1–45 (1975).
Mattauer, M. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 28, 144–154 (1975).
Pecher, A. thesis, Grenoble Univ. (1978).
Bouchez, J. L. & Pecher, A. Tectonophysics 78, 23–50 (1981).
Brunel, M. thesis, Paris Univ. (1983).
Brun, J.-P., Burg, J.-P. & Chen, G. M. Terra Cognita 3, 246 (1983).
Krummenacher, D. in Recherches géologiques dans l'Himalaya du Nepal, Region de la Thakkhola, (Ch. 6, 187–202 CNRS Paris, 1971).
Chang, C. F., Zheng, X. L. & Pan, Y. S. Proc. Inst. Geol. Acad. Sin. Peking, 1–17 (1977).
Vidal, Ph. Geology 6, 196 (1978).
Zhang, Y. Q., Dai, T. M. & Hong, A. S. Proc. Symp. on Tibet Plateau, 1, 483–495 (1981).
Xu, R. H., Sharer, U. & Allègre, C. J. Terra Cognita 3, 273 (1983).
Debon, F. Terra Cognita 3, 266 (1983).
Deniel, C. Terra Cognita 3, 266 (1983).
Ferrara, G., Lombardo, B. & Tonarini, S. Geol. Rdsch. 72, 119–136 (1983).
Scharer, U. Earth planet Sci. Lett. 67, 191–204 (1984).
Burg, J.-P., Brunel, M., Gapais, D., Chen, G. M. & Liu, G. H. J. struct. Geol. (in the press).
Le Fort, P. 9th Reun. Ann. Sci. Terre, Paris 9, 369 (1982).
Shackleton, R. M. J. struct. Geol. 3, 97–105 (1981).
Nicolas, A. & Poirier, J. P. Crystalline Plasticity and Solid State Flow in Metamorphic Rocks (Wiley Intersciences, New-York, 1976).
Hobbs, B. E., Means, W. D. & Williams, P. F. An Outline of Structural Geology (Wiley, New York 1976).
Cobbold, P. R. & Quinquis, H. J. Struct. Geol. 2, 119–126 (1980).
Brun, J.-P. & Burg, J.-P. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 61, 319–332 (1982).
Molnar, P. H. & Gray, D. Geology 7, 58–62 (1979).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brun, JP., Burg, JP. & Ming, C. Strain trajectories above the Main Central Thrust (Himalaya) in southern Tibet. Nature 313, 388–390 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/313388a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/313388a0
This article is cited by
-
High-temperature cooling histories of migmatites from the High Himalayan Crystallines in Sikkim, India: rapid cooling unrelated to exhumation?
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology (2014)
-
Deformation style in the Munsiari Thrust Zone: a study in the Madlakia–Munsiari–Dhapa section in north-eastern Kumaun Himalaya
International Journal of Earth Sciences (2013)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.