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Feeding the “aneurysm”: Orogen‐parallel mass transport into Nanga Parbat and the western Himalayan syntaxis
Author(s) -
Whipp David M.,
Beaumont Christopher,
Braun Jean
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: solid earth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.983
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 2169-9356
pISSN - 2169-9313
DOI - 10.1002/2013jb010929
Subject(s) - geology , crust , tectonics , shear zone , massif , transpression , thickening , shear (geology) , wedge (geometry) , terrane , seismology , geomorphology , petrology , geophysics , paleontology , geometry , chemistry , mathematics , polymer science
The Nanga Parbat‐Haramosh massif (NPHM; western Himalayan syntaxis) requires an influx of mass exceeding that in the adjacent Himalayan arc to sustain high topography and rapid erosional exhumation rates. What supplies this mass flux and feeds this “tectonic aneurysm?” We show, using a simple 3‐D model of oblique orogen convergence, that velocity/strain partitioning results in horizontal orogen‐parallel (OP) crustal transport, and the same behavior is inferred for the Himalaya, with OP transport diverting converging crust toward the syntaxis. Model results also show that the OP flow rate decreases in the syntaxis, thereby thickening the crust and forming a structure like the NPHM. The additional crustal thickening, over and above that elsewhere in the Himalayan arc, sustains the rapid exhumation of this “aneurysm.” Normally, velocity/strain partitioning would be minimal for the Himalayan arc where the convergence obliquity is no greater than ~40°. However, we show analytically that the Himalayan system can act both as a critical wedge and exhibit strain partitioning if both the detachment beneath the wedge and the bounding rear shear zone, which accommodates OP transport, are very weak. Corresponding numerical results confirm this requirement and demonstrate that a Nanga Parbat‐type shortening structure can develop spontaneously if the orogenic wedge and bounding rear shear zone can strain rate soften while active. These results lead us to question whether the position of NPHM aneurysm is localized by river incision, as previously suggested, or by a priori focused tectonic shortening of the crust in the syntaxis region as demonstrated by our models.