Nature 307, 17 - 22 (05 January 1984); doi:10.1038/307017a0

Structure and evolution of the Himalaya−Tibet orogenic belt

C. J. Allégre^*, V. Courtillot^*, P. Tapponnier^*, A. Hirn^*, M. Mattauer^†, C. Coulon^‡, J. J. Jaeger^§, J. Achache^*, U. Schärer^*, J. Marcoux, J. P. Burg^†, J. Girardeau^*, R. Armijo^*, C. Gariépy^*, C. Göpel^*, Li Tindong^¶, Xiao Xuchang^¶, Chang Chenfa^¶, Li Guangqin^¶, Lin Baoyu^¶, Teng Jiwen^¶, Wang Naiwen^¶, Chen Guoming^¶, Han Tonglin^¶, Wang Xibin^¶, Den Wanming^¶, Sheng Huaibin^¶, Cao Yougong^¶, Zhou Ji^¶, Qiu Hongrong^¶, Bao Peisheng^¶, Wang Songchan^¶, Wang Bixiang^¶, Zhou Yaoxiu^¶ & Ronghua Xu^¶

^*Institut de Physique du Globe, Université Paris 6, UER Sciences Physiques de la Terre, Université Paris 7, 75230 Paris Cedex 05, France
^†Laboratoire de Géologie Structurale, USTL, 3400 Montpellier, France
^‡Laboratoire de Pétrologie, St Jérôme, 13397 Marseille, France
^§Laboratoire de Paléontologie, UER Sciences de la Terre, Université Paris 6, 75230 Paris Cedex 05, France
Laboratoire de Géologie, Université de Reims, 51000 Reims, France
^¶Academy of Geological Sciences, Ministry of Geology, Baiwanzhuang Street and Academia Sinica, Beijing, China

The 1981 French−Chinese expedition to Tibet focused on the Lhasa block, extending earlier coverage 400 km north of the Tsangpo suture. The Lhasa block stood between 10 and 15° N latitude over most of the Upper Cretaceous and Eocene and, if Gondwanian in origin, had detached from Gondwana by early Permian. Seismic profiles reveal a complex Moho topography resulting both from multiple continental thrusting and large-scale strike-slip faulting. Subduction related granitoids representing mixtures of mantle and crustal components and anatectic granitoids have been analysed and dated. This study emphasizes the role of smaller blocks in the accretion of the continental mosaic.

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