Abstract
THE Tibetan Plateau, which has an average elevation of 5.0 km over 7×105 km2, is the largest topographic mass above sea-level on the Earth. Because it is covered with Cretaceous limestones1 its uplift must be Tertiary, and is probably related to the Himalayan continental collision. There is considerable debate concerning its present structure and mode of formation. Various authors have theorised that Tibet was uplifted by underthrusting of a second crustal layer2–6; by horizontal compression and thickening7–9, or by low-density material in the mantle10. All that is known with certainty is that it is isostatically compensated11, and covered with widespread Neogene calc-alkaline volcanic rocks12. The study of Rayleigh wave attenuation reported here indicates that the lowermost part of the crust is partially molten, and that uplift has been due to horizontal compression.
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BIRD, P., TOKSÖZ, M. Strong attenuation of Rayleigh waves in Tibet. Nature 266, 161–163 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/266161a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/266161a0
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