metamorphism melting and extension age constraints from the high himalayan slab of southeast zanskar and northwest lahaul abstract we present evidence for two distinct stages of tertiary metamorphism m1 and m2 in the high himalayan slab of southeast zanskar and northwest lahaul as well as evidence for an older pre himalayan metamorphism pre m1 the m1 was a regional barrovian type event related to crustal shortening and thickening of the indian plate margin while m2 was associated with crustal melting and the emplacement of the gumburanjon leucogranite into the zanskar shear zone at the top of the slab u pb dating of metamorphic and magmatic accessory phases constrains the timing of m1 between 30 and 37 ma and the crystallization and emplacement age of the gumburanjon leucogranite at 21 22 ma inherited accessory phases in metamorphic and magmatic samples suggest that the protoliths of the slab are at least lower paleozoic in age and that they experienced a major pre m1 thermal perturbation at ca 450 500 ma whether this was associated with a regional barrovian type metamorphism or whether it was a thermal event rel

identification of inherited radiogenic pb in monazite and its implications for u pb systematics the simplest interpretation of uranium lead mineral ages in igneous rocks embodies the assumption that melting of pre existing rocks leads to homogenization of the lead isotopes thus resetting the radiometric clock zircons often violate this assumption by only partially dissolving and preserving a component of lead inherited from before the melting episode but until now such behaviour has not been observed in monazite here we report u pb data for zircons and monazites from a tertiary granite from the himalayas in which zircons and monazites contain inherited radio genic lead an analysis of a single entirely igneous zircon crystal plots on concordia at 19 5 0 4 myr eight monazite fractions lie on a line from an upper intercept of 471 10 myr to the youngest fraction which plots slightly above concordia at 21 myr the presence of excess 206pb in the youngest monazite fractions indi cates that the monazite data represent a mixing line between young magmatic monazite and an older inherited component rather than a resetting of 471 myr monazites at 20 myr these data suggest a closure temperature for pb in monazite significantly higher than previously published estimates

polyphase metamorphism and the development of the main central thrust along a cross section through the lesser and higher himalayan units at the kishtwar window area north west india a polyphase barrovian type metamorphism has been delineated in relation to the development of the main central thrust mct in the metapelitic mineral assemblages three metamorphic phases have been distinguished a conditions up to amphibolite grade at moderate to high pressures alm rut ilm kya qtz characterize the m1 phase b pressure release and or temperature increase as a result of movement along the mct and the formation of gneiss domes in the higher himalaya as expressed by oriented n70 100 e fibrolite defines the m2 phase and c finally during uplift of the kishtwar window area a retrogressive m3 phase is characterized by the assemblage quartz muscovite chlorite both optically zoned and single stage garnets have been examined with the electron microprobe to determine their element partitioning normal zoning has been found in samples below the mct in the lesser himalaya indicating prograde growth during the m2 phase whereas tectonically above in the higher himalaya unit the garnets reveal double stage growth with a complex zoning pattern due to reaction partitioning during m1 and m2 and reverse zoning at their rims during the retrogressive m3 phase geothermometry on metapelites along a cross section through the mct zone and the higher himalaya imply distinct readjustments of garnet biotite exchange equilibria and indicate isothermal conditions 500 600 c throughout the section during the m3 retrogression pressure calculations gro an kya qtz and alm rut ilm kya qtz suggest a decrease in pressure towards the top of the section 6 7 5 to 4 5 5 kbar as corroborated by fibrolite replacing kyanite the spatially inverse metamorphism exposed within the lesser himalaya of the kishtwar window is regarded as a product of polyphase metamorphism combined with ongoing thrusting and shearing and is reflected by condensed m2 isograds around the kishtwar window

tectonic evolution of the high himalaya in upper lahul nw himalaya india the upper lahul region in the nw himalaya is located in the transition zone between the high himalayan crystalline hhc to the sw and the tethyan zone sedimentary series to the ne the tectonic evolution of these domains during the himalayan orogeny is the consequence of a succession of five deformation events an early dl phase corresponds to synmetamorphic ne verging folding this deformation created the tandi syncline which consists of permian to jurassic tethyan metasediments cropping out in the core of a large scale synformal fold within the hhc paragneiss this tectonic event is interpreted as related to a ne directed nappe stacking shikar beh nappe probably during the late eocene to the early oligocene a subsequent d2a phase caused sw verging folding in the hhc this deformation is interpreted as contemporaneous with late oligocene to early miocene sw directed thrusting along the main central thrust in the tethyan zone a d2b phase is marked by a decollement thrust a system of reverse faults and gentle folds associated with sw directed tectonic movements this deformation is related to an imbricate structure characteristic of a shallow structural level and developed in the frontal part of a nappe affecting the tethyan zone units of se zanskar nyimaling tsarap nappe a later d3 phase generated the chandra dextral shear zone cdsz a large scale ductile dextral strike slip shear zone located in the transition zone between the hhc and the tethyan himalaya the cdsz most likely represents a part of a system of early miocene extensional and or dextral strike slip shear zones observed at the hhc tethyan zone contact along the entire himalaya a final d4 phase induced large scale doming and ne verging back folding

effect of dry large scale vertical motions on initial mjo convective onset anomalies of eastward propagating large scale vertical motion with 30 day variability at addu city maldives move into the indian ocean from the west and are implicated in madden julian oscillation mjo convective onset using ground based radar and large scale forcing data derived from a sounding array typical profiles of environmental heating moisture sink vertical motion moisture advection and eulerian moisture tendency are computed for periods prior to those during which deep convection is prevalent and those during which moderately deep cumulonimbi do not form into deep clouds convection with 3 7 km tops is ubiquitous but present in greater numbers when tropospheric moistening occurs below 600 hpa vertical eddy convergence of moisture in shallow to moderately deep clouds is likely responsible for moistening during a 3 7 day long transition period between suppressed and active mjo conditions although moistening via evaporation of cloud condensate detrained into the environment of such clouds may also be important reduction in large scale subsidence associated with a vertical velocity structure that travels with a dry eastward propagating zonal wavenumbers 1 1 5 structure in zonal wind drives a steepening of the lapse rate below 700 hpa which supports an increase in moderately deep moist convection as the moderately deep cumulonimbi moisten the lower troposphere more deep convection develops which itself moistens the upper troposphere reduction in large scale subsidence associated with the eastward propagating feature reinforces the upper tropospheric moistening helping to then rapidly make the environment conducive to formation of large stratiform precipitation regions whose heating is critical for mjo maintenance

himalayan inverted metamorphism constrained by oxygen isotope thermometry inverted metamorphic field gradients are preserved in two amphibolite facies metapelitic sequences forming the crystalline core zone of the himalayan orogen in the sutlej valley nw india in the high himalayan crystalline sequence hhcs metamorphic conditions increase upwards from the staurolite zone at the base through the kyanite in and sillimanite in isograds finally to reach partial melting conditions at the top the structurally lower lesser himalayan crystalline sequence lhcs shows a gradual superposition of garnet in staurolite in and kyanite sillimanite in isograds although phase equilibria constraints imply inverted temperature field gradients in both units garnet biotite garb rim thermometry indicates final equilibration at a nearly uniform temperature around t 600 c across these sequences the p t path and garnet zoning data show that this apparent lack of thermal field gradient is mainly the consequence of a resetting of the garb equilibria during cooling in order to constrain peak temperature conditions 20 samples along the studied section have been analysed for oxygen isotope thermometry the isotopic fractionations recorded by quartz garnet and quartz aluminosilicate mineral pairs indicate temperatures consistent with phase equilibria and p t path constraints for metamorphic peak conditions together with barometry results based on net transfer continuous reactions the oxygen isotope thermometry indicates peak conditions characterized by 1 a temperature increase from t 570 to 750 c at a nearly constant pressure around p 800 mpa from the base to the top of the hhcs unit 2 a temperature increase from t 610 to 700 c and a pressure decrease from p 900 to 700 mpa from the base to the top of the lhcs metapelites oxygen isotope thermometry thus provides the first quantitative data demonstrating that the himalayan inverted metamorphism can be associated with a complete inversion of the thermal field gradient across the crystalline core zone of this orogen

india eurasia collision chronology has implications for crustal shortening and driving mechanism of plates the motion of the indian plate is determined in an absolute frame of reference and compared with the position of the southern margin of eurasia deduced from palaeomagnetic data in tibet the 2 600 900 km of continental crust shortening observed is shown to have occurred in three different episodes subduction of continental crust intracontinental thrusting and internal deformation and lateral extrusion the detailed chronology of the collision and plate reorganizations in the indian and pacific oceans supports the hypothesis that slab pull is a dominant driving mechanism of plate tectonics

two stages of zircon and monazite growth in anatectic leucogneiss shrimp constraints on the duration and intensity of pan african metamorphism in prydz bay east antarctica

exhumation history of eastern ladakh revealed by 40ar 39ar and fission track ages the indus river tso morari transect nw himalaya fission track and 40 ar 39 ar ages place time constraints on the exhumation of the north himalayan nappe stack the indus suture zone and molasse and the transhimalayan batholith in eastern ladakh nw india results from this and previous studies on a north south transect passing near tso morari lake suggest that the sw directed north himalayan nappe stack comprising the mata tetraogal and tso morari nappes was emplaced and metamorphosed by c 50 45 ma and exhumed to moderately shallow depths c 10 km by c 45 40 ma from the mid eocene to the present exhumation continued at a steady and slow rate except for the root zone of the tso morari nappe which cooled faster than the rest of the nappe stack rapid cooling occurred at c 20 ma and is linked to brittle deformation along the normal ribil zildat fault concomitant with extrusion of the crystalline nappe in the south data from the indus molasse suggest that sediments were still being deposited during the miocene

southwestward weakening of wyoming lithosphere during the laramide orogeny the mechanism of laramide deformation in the central rocky mountains remains enigmatic it is generally agreed that the deformation resulted from low angle subduction of the farallon plate beneath the north american plate during the latest cretaceous early eocene however recent studies have suggested the importance of slab removal or slab rollback in causing this deformation here we infer wyoming lithosphere structure and surface deformation pattern by conducting 2 d flexural subsidence modeling in order to provide constraints on the mechanism of laramide deformation we assume that wyoming lithosphere behaved as an infinite elastic plate subject to tectonic loading of mountain ranges and conduct 2 d flexural subsidence modeling to major laramide basins to document lithospheric stiffness and mountain load height our results show that the stiffness of wyoming lithosphere varied slightly in each basin during the 30 myr duration of the laramide deformation and decreased from northeastern wyoming te 32 46 km to southwestern wyoming te 6 9 km our results also imply that the increase of equivalent load height of major laramide ranges accelerated during the early eocene we propose that the bending stresses induced by the topographic load of the sevier fold and thrust belt combined with crust mantle decoupling initiated by the overthickened sevier hinterland and the end loads due to the low angle subduction at the western edge of the thick wyoming craton have caused the southwestward decrease of lithospheric stiffness in wyoming moreover we attribute the accelerated load height gain during the early eocene to both dynamic and isostatic effects associated with slab rollback

simultaneous miocene extension and shortening in the himalayan orogen the south tibetan detachment system separates the high grade metamorphic core of the himalayan orogen from its weakly metamorphosed suprastructure it is thought to have developed in response to differences in gravitational potential energy produced by crustal thickening across the mountain front geochronologic data from the rongbuk valley north of qomolangma mount everest in southern tibet demonstrate that at least one segment of the detachment system was active between 19 and 22 million years ago an interval characterized by large scale crustal thickening at lower structural levels these data suggest that decoupling between an extending upper crust and a converging lower crust was an important aspect of himalayan tectonics in miocene time

electron microprobe dating of monazites from high grade gneisses and pegmatites of the kerala khondalite belt southern india monazites of five samples one leptynitic garnet biotite gneiss one khondalite one augen gneiss and two pegmatites from the central and northern part ponmudi unit of the kerala khondalite belt kkb in southern india were analyzed with the electron microprobe dating technique monazites in the augen gneiss and the pegmatites yield grain sizes between 200 800 m th abundances are rather low 10 wt and the distribution of th u and pb within single grains is fairly homogeneous contrasting to this monazites in the leptynitic gneiss and the khondalite are small 150 m they often display very complex th u pb patterns and contain high th concentrations up to 20 wt the statistical treatment of individual ages from the investigated samples revealed three populations of lower proterozoic 1 9 ga upper proterozoic 580 ma and ordovician age 470 ma as well as mid proterozoic ages between 0 8 1 7 ga which are not regarded to be of geological significance lower proterozoic ages are preserved in the cores of monazites from leptynitic gneisses and khondalites they fairly agree with sm nd model ages for similar rocks of the kkb and give a minimum age for first monazite growth or complete homogenization the prominent pan african population with mean values between 540 and 580 ma is present in the leptynitic gneiss the khondalite and the augen gneiss and in line with published isotope ages for the kkb the ordovician population finally marks the emplacement of granitic pegmatites subsequent to the pan african high grade metamorphic event there is an obvious discrepancy between khondalites and leptynitic gneisses on the one hand and augen gneisses on the other concerning the presence of lower proterozoic ages while these are abundant in the former often rimmed by upper proterozoic ages they are completely absent in the latter it appears unlikely that lower proterozoic ages were completely reset during a pan african event exclusively in the augen gneisses while they were preserved in leptynitic gneisses and khondalites it is further concluded that the augen gneisses are of magmatic origin and were derived from porphyritic granites thus the upper proterozoic age of 605 37 ma calculated for the investigated sample approximates the time of magma emplacement which slightly precedes the peak stage of pan african high grade metamorphism in the kkb and of monazite crystallization from the granitic melt a characteristic feature of the investigated monazites is the resetting of lower proterozoic and pan african ages to significantly younger values due to partial pb loss monazites not shielded by other minerals e g garnet suffered selective mobilization of pb along fractures or at their rims while th and u concentrations remained almost unchanged the results presented in this study indicate that this was mainly due to fluid rock interaction it is concluded that thermal diffusion of pb even at the suggested temperatures of 900 c only had minor influence on the th u pb composition in monazite and that the closure temperature for this system must be significantly higher than previously assumed 750 c

detection of inherited monazite in the manaslu leucogranite by 208pb232th ion microprobe dating crystallization age and tectonic implications abstract although leucogranites are among the least petrologically variable of all igneous rocks ironically they are among the most difficult to reliably date the high himalayan leucogranites have been the subject of numerous geochronological investigations because of their interrelationship with the most significant tectonic features of that mountain belt for a variety of reasons linked to the minimum melt composition of these leucogranites these dating studies have not been entirely successful we report results of a new ion microprobe dating method based on the decay of 232 th to 208 pb in monazite that has directly revealed the presence of inherited pb in monazite from the manalsu granite casting doubt on its previously accepted age monazite ages obtained from this leucogranite yield two distinct populations a large number of ages with a normal distribution and mean age of 22 4 0 5 ma 2 s e that we interpret to be the crystallization age and a smaller inherited fraction with an age of ca 600 ma because formation of the granite is thought to be related to slip on the main central thrust both this date and a second less precise result from a structurally similar pluton near mt everest indicate that the main central thrust was active in the interval 24 22 ma but do not constrain its initiation together with crosscutting relationships these data require that movement on the north himalayan fault occurred prior to 22 ma at both locations

interpretation of monazite ages obtained via in situ analysis abstract monazite grains from nepal and vietnam were compositionally analyzed with an electron microprobe and dated th pb with an ion microprobe five sources of uncertainty explain age distributions from single samples that appear inconsistent with a single population 1 pb loss due to diffusion 2 dissolution reprecipitation reactions along a retrograde path 3 analytical uncertainties 4 analyses of overlapping age domains and 5 episodic monazite growth the influence of these factors is sample dependent but can be evaluated 1 using peak metamorphic conditions and x ray element maps to assess potential polymetamorphism or retrogression 2 obtaining other geochronologic data including previous work or dating other minerals in the sample 3 evaluating any method related uncertainty including counting statistics for electron microprobe analyses or calibration reproducibility for ion microprobe analyses and 4 ascertaining the potential growth mechanism of the monazite grain including dissolution of detrital grains or production from rare earth element ree oxide or allanite chemical contents of monazite grains analyzed in this study fail to reflect timing information or mineral growth mechanisms instead of relying on monazite chemical composition major mn fe mg ca and minor y element garnet zoning patterns and peak p t conditions should be used to facilitate age interpretation this thermobarometric data records the sample s thermal history changes in garnet growth rate and mechanisms and accessory mineral breakdown

magmatism and metamorphism in the ladakh himalayas the indus tsangpo suture zone abstract ladakh india provides a complete geological section through the northwestern part of the himalayas from kashmir to tibet within this section the magmatic metamorphic and geotectonic evolution of the northern himalayan orogeny has been studied using petrographic geochemical and isotope analytical techniques the beginning of the himalayan cycle was marked by large basaltic extrusions panjal trap of permian to lower triassic age at the northern margin of the gondwana continent indian shield these continental type tholeiitic basalts were followed by a more alkaline volcanism within the triassic to jurassic lamayuru unit of the gondwana continental margin lower jurassic to cretaceous oceanic crust and sediments ophiolitic melange s s accompany the triassic to cretaceous flysch deposits within the indus tsangpo suture zone the major structural divide between the indian shield high himalaya and the tibetan platform so far no relic of paleozoic oceanic crust has been found subduction of the tethyan oceanic crust during upper jurassic and cretaceous time produced an island arc represented by tholeiitic and calc alkaline volcanic rock series dras volcanics and related intrusives accompanied by volcaniclastic flysch deposits towards the tibetan continental margin subsequent to the subduction of oceanic crust large volumes of calc alkaline plutons trans himalayan or kangdese plutons intruded the tibetan continental margin over a distance of 2000 km and partly the dras island arc in the ladakh region the collision of the indian shield and tibetan platform started during the middle to upper eocene and caused large scale still active intracrustal thrusting as well as the piling up of the himalayan nappes the tectonically highest of these nappes is built up of oceanic crust and huge slices of peridotitic oceanic mantle spongtang klippe in the high himalayas the tectonic activity was accompanied and outlasted by a barrovian type metamorphism that affected triassic sediments of the kashmir nun kun synclinorium up to kyanite staurolite grade and the deeper seated units up to sillimanite grade cooling ages of micas are around 20 m y muscovite and 13 m y biotite towards the indus tsangpo suture zone metamorphism decreases with no obvious discontinuity through greenschist prehnite pumpellyite to zeolite grade remnants of possibly an eo himalayan blueschist metamorphism have been found within thrust zones accompanying ophiolitic melange in the suture zone

u pb monazite xenotime and titanite geochronological constraints on the prograde to post peak metamorphic thermal history of paleoproterozoic migmatites from the grand canyon arizona the petrology and u pb geochronology of pelitic migmatite and calc silicate gneiss reveal a detailed prograde to post peak metamorphic thermal history for a single outcrop of paleoproterozoic supracrustal rocks in the eastern part of the grand canyon metamorphic monazite from paleosomal pelitic schist grew on the prograde path beginning at about 1708 ma and continued to grow until about 1697 ma the u pb dates for magmatic xenotime and monazite from peraluminous granite and pegmatite leucosomes indicate that partial melting which involved the breakdown of muscovite to sillimanite commenced at about 1702 ma prior to the metamorphic peak partial melting continued until about 1690 ma the youngest u pb date from magmatic monazite in the leucosomes field and petrographic evidence as well as inheritance patterns in monazites from the leucosomes suggest that some of the leucosomes appear to represent in situ partial melts that did not escape the source region between 1702 and 1690 ma the migmatite package heated to peak metamorphic conditions of about 720 c and 6 kbar cooled to about 675 c at a cooling rate 30 c million years and decompressed to about 4 kbar the u pb geochronological data for metamorphic titanite from a calc silicate gneiss exhibit a clear relationship between grain size and the 207pb 206pb date indicating that the titanite crystals record cooling ages these data combined with the titanite pb diffusion data of cherniak 1993 yield a cooling rate of 5 4 0 9 1 7 c million years integrated over the interval 1690 to 1676 ma and suggest that by 1675 ma the cooling rate slowed to less than 2 c million years the rapid decompression during the peak of metamorphism and the change in cooling rate immediately following peak metamorphism are interpreted to reflect large scale tectonic processes associated with the accretion of juvenile crust to the margin of laurentia juvenile arc crust appears to have been assembled accreted and stabilized into laurentian lithosphere in less than 30 million years

miocene to holocene exhumation of metamorphic crustal wedges in the nw himalaya evidence for tectonic extrusion coupled to fluvial erosion the himalayan crystalline core zone exposed along the sutlej valley india is composed of two high grade metamorphic gneiss sheets that were successively underthrusted and tectonically extruded as a consequence of the foreland directed propagation of crustal deformation in the indian plate margin the high himalayan crystalline sequence hhcs is composed of amphibolite facies to migmatitic paragneisses metamorphosed at temperatures up to 750 c at 30 km depth between eocene and early miocene during early miocene combined thrusting along the main central thrust mct and extension along the sangla detachment induced the rapid exhumation and cooling of the hhcs whereas exhumation was mainly controlled by erosion since middle miocene the lesser himalayan crystalline sequence lhcs is composed of amphibolite facies para and orthogneisses metamorphosed at temperatures up to 700 c during underthrusting down to 30 km depth beneath the mct the lhcs cooled very rapidly since late miocene as a consequence of exhumation controlled by thrusting along the munsiari thrust and extension in the mct hanging wall this renewed phase of tectonic extrusion at the himalayan front is still active as indicated by the present day regional seismicity and by hydrothermal circulation linked to elevated near surface geothermal gradients in the lhcs as recently evidenced in the himalayan syntaxes active exhumation of deep crustal rocks along the sutlej valley is spatially correlated with the high erosional potential of this major trans himalayan river this correlation supports the emerging view of a positive feedback during continental collision between crustal scale tectono thermal reworking and efficient erosion along major river systems

electron microprobe observations of pb diffusion in metamorphosed detrital monazites electron microprobe analyses have been made on monazite grains from paragneiss samples in the andalusite sillimanite transition 620 15 c and sillimanite orthoclase 680 15 c zones of the cretaceous ryoke metamorphic belt southwest japan monazites from pelitic gneisses are of metamorphic origin euhedral to subhedral and chronologically homogeneous giving chemical th u total pb isochron chime ages of 98 8 3 3 98 0 3 2 ma two psammitic gneisses of individual metamorphic grade contain both metamorphic monazite grains and detrital ones as old as ca 1700 ma most detrital monazite grains are heterogeneous in the tho2 and uo2 concentrations and have multiple or single rims as young as ca 100 ma several detrital monazite grains are well rounded in form exhibit homogeneous th and u distributions and show a pb diffusion profile in the margin the width of the diffusion zones is approximately constant throughout grains from each psammitic gneiss 18 22 m for 620 c and 48 58 m for 680 c assuming the isothermal diffusion of pb from homogeneous monazite spheres during a 5 ma duration of peak metamorphism we obtain diffusion coefficients of 1 9 0 3 10 21 and 1 5 0 3 10 20 cm2 s at 620 c and 680 c respectively these data derive an activation energy of 2 44 2 85 1 26 105 j mol and a frequency factor of 3 4 10 7 8 5 10 12 2 2 107 cm2 s taking account of uncertainties of 15 c in the temperatures and of 20 in the diffusion coefficients the diffusion parameters obtained from natural samples in this study provide a reliable insight into the closure temperature for pb in monazite that has been poorly understood so far

pb diffusion in monazite a combined rbs sims study abstract we report measurements of pb diffusion in both synthetic cepo4 and natural monazites run under dry 1 atm conditions powdered mixtures of prereacted cepo4 and pbzro3 were used as the source of pb diffusant for in diffusion experiments conducted in sealed pt capsules for durations ranging from a few hours to several weeks following the diffusion anneals pb concentration profiles were measured with rutherford backscattering spectroscopy rbs and supplemented by measurements with secondary ion mass spectrometry sims in order to evaluate potential compositional effects upon pb diffusivity and simulate diffusional pb loss that might occur in natural systems we also conducted out diffusion experiments on pb bearing natural monazites in these experiments monazite grains were surrounded by a synthetic zircon powder to act as a sink monazites from these experiments were analyzed with sims over the temperature range 1100 to 1350 c the arrhenius relation determined for in diffusion experiments on synthetic monazite is given by d 0 94 exp 592 39 kj mol 1 rt m 2 s 1 diffusivities for synthetic and natural monazites are similar as are results of measurements made on the same samples using both rbs and sims the activation energy for pb diffusion we determined is more than three times that for natural monazite reported previously with pb diffusivities at

domal structures and high grade metamorphism in the higher himalayan crystalline zanskar region north west himalaya india abstract in the main himalayan range in the ladakh zanskar area domal structures have been observed at structurally deeper levels in the tectonic unit of the higher himalayan crystalline their formation occurred during a second temperature dominated phase m2 of high grade regional metamorphism characterized by the semipelitic paragenesis of sillimanite k feldspar and incipient anatexis the doming event reveals a local system of synmetamorphic uplift superimposed on a regional system of northeast southwest trending compression in the main himalayan range the development of the dominant s2 foliation is related to deformation during the doming phase which started early in the m2 event the deformation propagated continuously north east and south west with time in the north east on the northern slopes of the main himalayan range this deformation is expressed by extensional shear movements of the upper tectonic levels finally leading to the late to postmetamorphic normal fault system of the zanskar shear zone towards the south west deformation is expressed by compressional movements e g at the main central thrust mct in the kishtwar window area the observed compression and extension is inferred to relate to an increased uplift of the domal bulges of the tectonic kishtwar window and of the whole main himalayan range

gneiss domes and orogeny many gneiss domes record positive feedback between decompression and partial melting of orogenic middle crust exhumed orogens are riddled with gneiss domes cored by migmatites that underwent dehydration melting during decompression the decreasing buoyancy associated with increasing melt fraction drives further decompression at near isothermal conditions as the partially molten crust rises diapirically this combination of processes may explain the generation and retention of large volumes of crustally derived melt recorded in many deep seated migmatite terranes and inferred for active orogens in exhumed orogens the signature of the rapid ascent of partially molten crust is a gneiss dome cored by migmatite granite the large volume of material involved in the vertical transfer of partially molten crust indicates that the formation of gneiss domes is an efficient mechanism for heat advection during orogenesis

tectonic evolution of the central annapurna range nepalese himalayas the metamorphic core of the himalayan orogen or greater himalayan sequence is a northward tapering prism bound at the bottom by a n dipping family of thrust faults the main central thrust system and at the top by a n dipping family of normal faults the south tibetan detachment system research in the central annapurna range of nepal demonstrates a close temporal and spatial association between contractional and extensional deformation on these bounding fault systems and within the metamorphic core throughout much of the early miocene the main central thrust system is represented here by a 2 to 3 km thick zone of high strain that developed during two or more episodes of movement most of its displacement was concentrated along the chomrong thrust a sharp late metamorphic discontinuity that places middle amphibolite facies rocks of the greater himalayan sequence on top of lower amphibolite facies rocks of the lesser himalayan sequence the earliest demonstrable movement on this thrust system occurred 22 5 ma the most recent movement may be as young as pliocene the oldest element of the south tibetan detachment system in this area is the deorali detachment which appears to have been active at the same time as the earliest shortening structures of the main central thrust system fabrics related to the deorali detachment are disrupted by a previously unrecognized sw vergent thrust structure the modi khola shear zone the effect of this structure which is constrained to be between 22 5 and 18 5 ma was to shorten rock packages that had been extended previously during movement on the deorali detachment transition back to a local extensional regime after 18 5 ma was marked by development of the machhupuchhare detachment and related splays geologic evidence for rapid two way transitions between contraction and extension in the annapurna range indicates that extensional deformation in convergent settings does not only represent gravitational collapse at the end of an orogenic cycle it also appears to be an important factor in mountain range development

structure of the chamba nappe and position of the main central thrust in kashmir himalaya abstract the chamba nappe composed of an approximately 8 km thick sequence of late precambrian to jurassic age rocks is located between the higher himalaya crystallines hhc and the lesser himalayan lh formations of panjal imbricate zone piz in the kashmir himalaya to the south the panjal thrust demarcating the base brings the chamba nappe rocks over the panjal imbricate zone to the north the chamba nappe rocks lie over the metamorphic hhc along the south dipping chenab normal fault cnb a pervasive stretching lineation defined by a mineral lineation stretched pebbles and felspar phenocrysts plunges ne nne and occurs on the foliation cleavage surface this lineation is related to southward displacement of the chamba nappe the chamba nappe is folded by regional scale fold viz the chamba tandi and bharmor synclines and the tisa anticline these nw se trending folds structures were developed synchronously with southward thrusting of the chamba nappe the chamba nappe results from southwestward sliding of cover rocks from their basement hhc due to topographic uplift the main central thrust mct in kashmir himalaya is different from that of the kumaun and nepal himalaya the mct vaikrita thrust does not extend west of the beas river but it is exposed in the rampur window and the kishtwar window separating the hhc from the underlying lh rocks southward propagation of the mct from the window zone up cutting the overlying hhc is transferred to the panjal thrust which transports the chamba nappe to the south over the lesser himalayan formations

age of initiation of collision between india and asia a review of stratigraphic data abstract the collision of india with asia is perhaps the most profound tectonic event to have occurred in past 100 ma it is responsible for the uplift of the himalayas and tibetan plateau and has been argued to have been responsible for geological geochemical and climatological consequences of global extent yet the age of initiation of this collision remains poorly constrained the literature is replete with estimates that range from the late cretaceous 65 ma to latest eocene

the metamorphism in the central himalaya all along the himalayan chain an axis of crystalline rocks has been preserved made of the higher himalaya crystalline and the crystalline nappes of the lesser himalaya the salient points of the metamorphism as deduced from data collected in central himalaya central nepal and kumaun are 1 the higher himalaya crystalline also called the tibetan slab displays a polymetamorphic history with a first stage of barrovian type overprinted by a lower pressure and or higher temperature type metamorphism the metamorphism is due to quick and quasi adiabatic uplift of the tibetan slab by transport along an mct ramp accompanied by thermal refraction effects in the contact zone between the gneisses and their sedimentary cover the resulting metamorphic pattern is an apparent diachronic inverse zonation with the sillimanite zone above the kyanite zone 2 conversely the famous inverted zonation of the lesser himalaya is basically a primary pattern acquired during a one stage prograde metamorphism its origin must be related to the thrusting along the mct with heat supplied from the overlying hot tibetan slab as shown by synmetamorphic microstructures and the close geometrical relationships between the metamorphic isograds and the thrust 3 thermal equilibrium is reached between units above and below the mct far behind the thrust tip there is good agreement between the maximum temperature attained in the hanging wall and the temperature of the tibetan slab during the second metamorphic stage but closer to the mct front the thermal accordance between both sides of the thrust is due to a retrogressive metamorphic episode in the basal part of the tibetan slab

doming in compressional orogenic settings new geochronological constraints from the nw himalaya 1 in the central and southeastern parts of the himalayas the high himalayan crystalline hhc high grade rocks are mainly exhumed in the frontal part of the range as a consequence of a tectonic exhumation controlled by combined thrusting along the main central thrust mct and extension along the south tibetan detachment system stds in the nw himalaya however the hanging wall of the mct in the frontal part of the range consists mainly of lowto medium grade metasediments chamba zone whereas most of the amphibolite facies to migmatitic gneisses of the hhc of zanskar are exposed in a more internal part of the orogen as a large scale dome structure referred to as the gianbul dome this gianbul dome is cored by migmatitic paragneisses formed at peak conditions of 800 c and 8 kbar this migmatitic core is symmetrically surrounded by rocks of the sillimanite kyanite staurolite garnet biotite and chlorite mineral zones the structural data from the miyar gianbul valley section reveal that the gianbul dome is bounded by two major converging thrust zones the miyar thrust zone and the zanskar thrust zone which were reactivated as ductile zones of extension referred to as the khanjar shear zone ksz and the zanskar shear zone zsz respectively geochronological dating of monazites from various migmatites and leucogranite in the core of the gianbul dome indicates ages between 26 6 and 19 8 ma these results likely reflect a high temperature stage of the exhumation history of the hhc of zanskar and consequently constrain the onset of extension along both the zsz and the ksz to start shortly before 26 6 ma several recent models interpret that ductile extrusion of the high grade low viscosity migmatites of hhc reflects combined extension along the zsz and thrusting along the mct hence our new data constrain the onset of the thrusting along the mct to start shortly before 26 6 ma citation robyr m b r hacker and j m mattinson 2006 doming in compressional orogenic settings new geochronological constraints from the

new constraints on the age of the manaslu leucogranite evidence for episodic tectonic denudation in the central himalayas the manaslu leucogranite of central nepal transacts one segment of the south tibetan detachment system a major extensional feature that helped to moderate large topographic gradients in the himalayan orogen in middle tertiary time 40 ar 39 ar ages for hornblendes from the northeastern contact aureole of the pluton indicate that intrusion occurred prior to 22 23 ma providing a minimum age for formation of the detachment system in the manaslu region that is at least 2 m y older than previous estimates from other parts of the orogen 40 ar 39 ar mica ages from the aureole similar to previously published mica ages from the upper part of the leucogranite indicate an episode of rapid cooling at 19 16 ma we attribute this cooling event to tectonic denudation of the pluton by movement on structurally higher exten sional faults and we suggest that gravitational collapse of the orogenic front occurred episodically over the late oligocene early miocene interval in the manaslu area

u pb systematics of monazite and xenotime case studies from the paleoproterozoic of the grand canyon arizona monazite is accepted widely as an important u pb geochronometer in metamorphic terranes because it potentially preserves prograde crystallization ages however recent studies have shown that the u pb isotopic system in monazite can be influenced by a variety of processes that partially obscure the early growth history in this paper we attempt to interpret complex monazite and xenotime u pb data from three paleoproterozoic granite dikes exposed in the grand canyon single crystal monazite analyses from an unfoliated granite dike spread out along concordia from the crystallization age of the dike defined by u pb zircon data to be 1685 1 ma to 1659 2 ma a span of 26 million years back scattered electron bse imaging reveals that magmatic domains within most crystals from this sample are truncated by secondary domains associated with prominent embayments at the grain margin fragments of a single crystal yield contrasting concordant dates and fragments from the edges and tips of crystals yield the youngest dates based on these observations we suggest that the secondary domains formed at least 26 million years after the crystal formed monazite and xenotime dates from the second sample a sheared dike that cross cuts the previous dike spread out along concordia over 16 million years and range up to 2 4 normally discordant again bse imaging reveals secondary domains that truncate both magmatic zoning and xenocrystic cores fragments sliced from specific domains of a previously imaged monazite crystal demonstrate that the secondary domain is 13 million years younger than the core domain textures revealed in bse images suggest that the secondary domains formed by fluid mineral interaction normal discordance appears to result from both radiation damage accumulated at temperatures below 300 c and water mineral interaction monazite data from the third sample exhibit dispersion in both the 207pb 206pb dates 1677 1690 ma and discordance 1 6 to 3 1 reverse discordance in these monazites cannot be explained by incomplete dissolution or excess thorogenic 206pb sliced fragments from several crystals reveal dramatic intragrain u pb disequilibrium that does not correlate with either th or u concentration or position within the crystal we suggest that reverse discordance resulted from mechanisms that involve exchange or fractionation of elemental u or elemental pb and that neither the u pb dates nor the 207pb 206pb dates are reliable indicators of the rock s crystallization age given the large number of processes proposed in the recent literature to explain monazite u pb systematics from rocks of all ages our results can be viewed as another cautionary note for single crystal and multi crystal monazite geochronometry however we suggest that because individual crystals can preserve a temporal record of primary and secondary monazite growth micro sampling of individual monazite crystals may provide precise absolute ages on a variety of processes that operate during the prograde peak and or retrograde history of metamorphic terranes