Abstract
Unlike rigid oceanic plates, continents show diffuse deformation, for example the Tibetan plateau that has accommodated much of the convergence of India with Asia. We interpret the Tertiary deformation of Asia as the three-dimensional strain of a non-linear, viscous continental lithosphere. Lateral strength contrasts modify this deformation; stress concentration around the relatively strong Tarim basin gives rise to local crustal thickening in the Tien Shan to the north and to strike slip in the Altyn Tagh along its southern margin.
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England, P., Houseman, G. Role of lithospheric strength heterogeneities in the tectonics of Tibet and neighbouring regions. Nature 315, 297–301 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/315297a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/315297a0
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