Collision of Indian Plate and Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone: Some Geological Constraints

Zahid Ali Khan; Ram Chandra Tewari; Rabindra Nath Hota

doi:doi:10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12

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Collision of Indian Plate and Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone: Some Geological Constraints

Zahid Ali Khan, Ram Chandra Tewari, Rabindra Nath Hota

Published in Earth Sciences (Volume 6, Issue 4)

Received: 26 July 2017 Accepted: 8 August 2017 Published: 17 August 2017

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Abstract

The occurrence of Gondwana affinity Permo-Carboniferous glacial deposits in northern Tibet, Lhasa Block and Qiangtang Block obviously suggests that India continued into Tibet at that time. Significant also is that paleoclimatic continuity was maintained over landmass of India and Tibet from Paleozoic through the Cenozoic eras up to the Pleistocene. The age and origin of the Indus-Tsangpo Suture (ITS) is doubtful because the ophiolites are about 100 Ma older than the supposed collision. Similarly, the progressive under-thrusting of the Indian plate below the Tibetan plate is deemed unlikely, as the ophiolites must have formed an 8-20 km thick wall between the two plates and it was not possible for the Indian Plate to cross it. Probably the apparent northward migration of India indicates a northward migration of the North Pole. Similarly, there is no explanation for the fact that, if underthrusting has taken place, why did the Himalayan uplift occur some 500 km from the Indus-Tsangpo suture instead of being along the collision zone itself, negate under thrusting. The double thickness of the crust in Tibet is not a unique feature in that it continues south of the so-called Indus-Tsangpo suture, as also in the Pamir; it is of about the same order in the Andes. Whereas the Tibetan glacial indicate that India and Tibet were not separated in the Carboniferous, Lystrosaurus fauna suggests it for the Lower Triassic and the ophiolites for the Jurassic-Cretaceous. The development of rift valleys and normal faults cutting across the Indus-Tsangpo suture (ITS) shows that even in the Quaternary India and Tibet was together. Indeed, the measured Cambrian diameter is 50% of the Earth where as in Upper Permian it was about 55-60% with the North Pole near Verkhoyansk and the South Pole to the southeast of South Africa. Evidently the Earth is expanding and the rate of expansion has progressively accelerated through time is supported by decline in the gravitational constant from about one third to about one half of the present from Precambrian up to Mesozoic.

Published in	Earth Sciences (Volume 6, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12
Page(s)	51-62
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Tibetan Glacial Deposits, Indus-Tsangpo Suture, Plate Tectonics, Polar Wandering, Paleopole, Paleogravity and Earth Expansion

References

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Zahid Ali Khan, Ram Chandra Tewari, Rabindra Nath Hota. (2017). Collision of Indian Plate and Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone: Some Geological Constraints. Earth Sciences, 6(4), 51-62. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12

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Zahid Ali Khan; Ram Chandra Tewari; Rabindra Nath Hota. Collision of Indian Plate and Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone: Some Geological Constraints. Earth Sci. 2017, 6(4), 51-62. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12

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Zahid Ali Khan, Ram Chandra Tewari, Rabindra Nath Hota. Collision of Indian Plate and Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone: Some Geological Constraints. Earth Sci. 2017;6(4):51-62. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12

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@article{10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12,
  author = {Zahid Ali Khan and Ram Chandra Tewari and Rabindra Nath Hota},
  title = {Collision of Indian Plate and Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone: Some Geological Constraints},
  journal = {Earth Sciences},
  volume = {6},
  number = {4},
  pages = {51-62},
  doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20170604.12},
  abstract = {The occurrence of Gondwana affinity Permo-Carboniferous glacial deposits in northern Tibet, Lhasa Block and Qiangtang Block obviously suggests that India continued into Tibet at that time. Significant also is that paleoclimatic continuity was maintained over landmass of India and Tibet from Paleozoic through the Cenozoic eras up to the Pleistocene. The age and origin of the Indus-Tsangpo Suture (ITS) is doubtful because the ophiolites are about 100 Ma older than the supposed collision. Similarly, the progressive under-thrusting of the Indian plate below the Tibetan plate is deemed unlikely, as the ophiolites must have formed an 8-20 km thick wall between the two plates and it was not possible for the Indian Plate to cross it. Probably the apparent northward migration of India indicates a northward migration of the North Pole. Similarly, there is no explanation for the fact that, if underthrusting has taken place, why did the Himalayan uplift occur some 500 km from the Indus-Tsangpo suture instead of being along the collision zone itself, negate under thrusting. The double thickness of the crust in Tibet is not a unique feature in that it continues south of the so-called Indus-Tsangpo suture, as also in the Pamir; it is of about the same order in the Andes. Whereas the Tibetan glacial indicate that India and Tibet were not separated in the Carboniferous, Lystrosaurus fauna suggests it for the Lower Triassic and the ophiolites for the Jurassic-Cretaceous. The development of rift valleys and normal faults cutting across the Indus-Tsangpo suture (ITS) shows that even in the Quaternary India and Tibet was together. Indeed, the measured Cambrian diameter is 50% of the Earth where as in Upper Permian it was about 55-60% with the North Pole near Verkhoyansk and the South Pole to the southeast of South Africa. Evidently the Earth is expanding and the rate of expansion has progressively accelerated through time is supported by decline in the gravitational constant from about one third to about one half of the present from Precambrian up to Mesozoic.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Collision of Indian Plate and Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone: Some Geological Constraints
AU  - Zahid Ali Khan
AU  - Ram Chandra Tewari
AU  - Rabindra Nath Hota
Y1  - 2017/08/17
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12
T2  - Earth Sciences
JF  - Earth Sciences
JO  - Earth Sciences
SP  - 51
EP  - 62
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5982
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12
AB  - The occurrence of Gondwana affinity Permo-Carboniferous glacial deposits in northern Tibet, Lhasa Block and Qiangtang Block obviously suggests that India continued into Tibet at that time. Significant also is that paleoclimatic continuity was maintained over landmass of India and Tibet from Paleozoic through the Cenozoic eras up to the Pleistocene. The age and origin of the Indus-Tsangpo Suture (ITS) is doubtful because the ophiolites are about 100 Ma older than the supposed collision. Similarly, the progressive under-thrusting of the Indian plate below the Tibetan plate is deemed unlikely, as the ophiolites must have formed an 8-20 km thick wall between the two plates and it was not possible for the Indian Plate to cross it. Probably the apparent northward migration of India indicates a northward migration of the North Pole. Similarly, there is no explanation for the fact that, if underthrusting has taken place, why did the Himalayan uplift occur some 500 km from the Indus-Tsangpo suture instead of being along the collision zone itself, negate under thrusting. The double thickness of the crust in Tibet is not a unique feature in that it continues south of the so-called Indus-Tsangpo suture, as also in the Pamir; it is of about the same order in the Andes. Whereas the Tibetan glacial indicate that India and Tibet were not separated in the Carboniferous, Lystrosaurus fauna suggests it for the Lower Triassic and the ophiolites for the Jurassic-Cretaceous. The development of rift valleys and normal faults cutting across the Indus-Tsangpo suture (ITS) shows that even in the Quaternary India and Tibet was together. Indeed, the measured Cambrian diameter is 50% of the Earth where as in Upper Permian it was about 55-60% with the North Pole near Verkhoyansk and the South Pole to the southeast of South Africa. Evidently the Earth is expanding and the rate of expansion has progressively accelerated through time is supported by decline in the gravitational constant from about one third to about one half of the present from Precambrian up to Mesozoic.
VL  - 6
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Zahid Ali Khan

Directorate of Geology and Mining, Khanij Bhawan, Lucknow, India
Ram Chandra Tewari

Department of Geology, Sri Jai Narain P. G. College, Lucknow, India
Rabindra Nath Hota

Department of Geology, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

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Zahid Ali Khan, Ram Chandra Tewari, Rabindra Nath Hota. (2017). Collision of Indian Plate and Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone: Some Geological Constraints. Earth Sciences, 6(4), 51-62. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12

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Zahid Ali Khan; Ram Chandra Tewari; Rabindra Nath Hota. Collision of Indian Plate and Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone: Some Geological Constraints. Earth Sci. 2017, 6(4), 51-62. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12

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AMA Style

Zahid Ali Khan, Ram Chandra Tewari, Rabindra Nath Hota. Collision of Indian Plate and Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone: Some Geological Constraints. Earth Sci. 2017;6(4):51-62. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12,
  author = {Zahid Ali Khan and Ram Chandra Tewari and Rabindra Nath Hota},
  title = {Collision of Indian Plate and Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone: Some Geological Constraints},
  journal = {Earth Sciences},
  volume = {6},
  number = {4},
  pages = {51-62},
  doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20170604.12},
  abstract = {The occurrence of Gondwana affinity Permo-Carboniferous glacial deposits in northern Tibet, Lhasa Block and Qiangtang Block obviously suggests that India continued into Tibet at that time. Significant also is that paleoclimatic continuity was maintained over landmass of India and Tibet from Paleozoic through the Cenozoic eras up to the Pleistocene. The age and origin of the Indus-Tsangpo Suture (ITS) is doubtful because the ophiolites are about 100 Ma older than the supposed collision. Similarly, the progressive under-thrusting of the Indian plate below the Tibetan plate is deemed unlikely, as the ophiolites must have formed an 8-20 km thick wall between the two plates and it was not possible for the Indian Plate to cross it. Probably the apparent northward migration of India indicates a northward migration of the North Pole. Similarly, there is no explanation for the fact that, if underthrusting has taken place, why did the Himalayan uplift occur some 500 km from the Indus-Tsangpo suture instead of being along the collision zone itself, negate under thrusting. The double thickness of the crust in Tibet is not a unique feature in that it continues south of the so-called Indus-Tsangpo suture, as also in the Pamir; it is of about the same order in the Andes. Whereas the Tibetan glacial indicate that India and Tibet were not separated in the Carboniferous, Lystrosaurus fauna suggests it for the Lower Triassic and the ophiolites for the Jurassic-Cretaceous. The development of rift valleys and normal faults cutting across the Indus-Tsangpo suture (ITS) shows that even in the Quaternary India and Tibet was together. Indeed, the measured Cambrian diameter is 50% of the Earth where as in Upper Permian it was about 55-60% with the North Pole near Verkhoyansk and the South Pole to the southeast of South Africa. Evidently the Earth is expanding and the rate of expansion has progressively accelerated through time is supported by decline in the gravitational constant from about one third to about one half of the present from Precambrian up to Mesozoic.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Collision of Indian Plate and Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone: Some Geological Constraints
AU  - Zahid Ali Khan
AU  - Ram Chandra Tewari
AU  - Rabindra Nath Hota
Y1  - 2017/08/17
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12
T2  - Earth Sciences
JF  - Earth Sciences
JO  - Earth Sciences
SP  - 51
EP  - 62
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5982
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170604.12
AB  - The occurrence of Gondwana affinity Permo-Carboniferous glacial deposits in northern Tibet, Lhasa Block and Qiangtang Block obviously suggests that India continued into Tibet at that time. Significant also is that paleoclimatic continuity was maintained over landmass of India and Tibet from Paleozoic through the Cenozoic eras up to the Pleistocene. The age and origin of the Indus-Tsangpo Suture (ITS) is doubtful because the ophiolites are about 100 Ma older than the supposed collision. Similarly, the progressive under-thrusting of the Indian plate below the Tibetan plate is deemed unlikely, as the ophiolites must have formed an 8-20 km thick wall between the two plates and it was not possible for the Indian Plate to cross it. Probably the apparent northward migration of India indicates a northward migration of the North Pole. Similarly, there is no explanation for the fact that, if underthrusting has taken place, why did the Himalayan uplift occur some 500 km from the Indus-Tsangpo suture instead of being along the collision zone itself, negate under thrusting. The double thickness of the crust in Tibet is not a unique feature in that it continues south of the so-called Indus-Tsangpo suture, as also in the Pamir; it is of about the same order in the Andes. Whereas the Tibetan glacial indicate that India and Tibet were not separated in the Carboniferous, Lystrosaurus fauna suggests it for the Lower Triassic and the ophiolites for the Jurassic-Cretaceous. The development of rift valleys and normal faults cutting across the Indus-Tsangpo suture (ITS) shows that even in the Quaternary India and Tibet was together. Indeed, the measured Cambrian diameter is 50% of the Earth where as in Upper Permian it was about 55-60% with the North Pole near Verkhoyansk and the South Pole to the southeast of South Africa. Evidently the Earth is expanding and the rate of expansion has progressively accelerated through time is supported by decline in the gravitational constant from about one third to about one half of the present from Precambrian up to Mesozoic.
VL  - 6
IS  - 4
ER  -

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