Results for the total stress field and effective viscosity are consistent with a weak lower crust in Tibet, they confirm that the deforming continental lithosphere there is behaving like a fluid, they predict considerable eastward extrusion of lithosphere relative to Eurasia, and they show that potential energy differences have a profound influence on the style and magnitude of strain around the Tibetan Plateau. The minimum root mean square deviatoric stress field that satisfies force - balance equations, where sources of stress are potential energy differences inferred assuming local isostatic compensation of topography in Asia. Open white principal axes represent tensional stress. Black principal axes are compressional stress. Tensional and Compressional principal axes of stress are represented by open and black arrows, respectively.
Tensional stress are open white principal axes and compressional stress are black principal axes.
Vertically averaged effective viscosity for Asia obtained by taking the magnitude of vertically averaged total stresses in areas above and dividing by the magnitude of average strain rates in same areas. The magnitude of the strain rates from Holt et al. Vertically averaged B-values for Asia obtained by taking the vertically averaged viscosities the in areas above, the magnitude of the model average strain rates in same areas from Holt et al. Format for compressional and tensional stresses is the same as that used in Figure 2 a-c. Format for compressional and tensional stresses is the same as that used in Figure 2 a-c.