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Limitations on Inferring 3D Architecture and Dynamics From Surface Velocities in the India‐Eurasia Collision Zone
Author(s) -
Flesch L.,
Bendick R.,
Bischoff S.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2017gl076503
Subject(s) - geology , collision , classification of discontinuities , collision zone , lithosphere , continental collision , seismology , slab , induced seismicity , slip (aerodynamics) , geodesy , plateau (mathematics) , geophysics , tectonics , mathematical analysis , physics , computer security , mathematics , computer science , thermodynamics
Surface velocities derived from Global Positioning System observations and Quaternary fault slip rates measured throughout an extended region of high topography in South Asia vary smoothly over thousands of kilometers and are broadly symmetrical, with components of both north‐south shortening and east‐west extension relative to stable Eurasia. The observed velocity field does not contain discontinuities or steep gradients attributable to along‐strike differences in collision architecture, despite the well‐documented presence of a lithospheric slab beneath the Pamir but not the Tibetan Plateau. We use a modified Akaike information criterion (AICc) to show that surface velocities do not efficiently constrain 3D rheology, geometry, or force balance. Therefore, although other geophysical and geological observations may indicate the presence of mechanical or dynamic heterogeneities within the Indian‐Asian collision, the surface Global Positioning System velocities contain little or no usable information about them.