Cenozoic India-Asia collision driven by mantle dragging the cratonic root.

ABSTRACT: The driving force behind the Cenozoic India-Asia collision remains elusive. Using global-scale geodynamic modeling, we find that the continuous motion of the Indian plate is driven by a prominent upper-mantle flow pushing the thick Indian lithospheric root, originated from the northward rollover of the detached Neo-Tethyan slab and sinking slabs below East Asia. The maximum mantle drag occurs within the strong Indian lithosphere and is comparable in magnitude to that of slab pull (10¹³N m^-1). The thick cratonic root enhances both lithosphere-asthenosphere coupling and upper-plate compressional stress, thereby sustaining the topography of Tibetan Plateau. We show that the calculated resistant force from the India-Asia plate boundary is also close to that due to the gr

SUBMITTER: Li Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11303558 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature