Scientific Perspectives and Findings
Teacher Jun Meng from the School of Earth Sciences and Resources, CUGB, the very first author of the study that was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA discusses, “There are two main models for the India– Asia collision. The very first is a multistage accident design that partitions the oceanic basin at the leading edge of India into smaller plates that were later integrated into the Asian plate. The second design states that India and Greater India existed as a single plate in the Early Cretaceous period, with the upper crust of the northern margin of Greater India forming the Himalayan thrust belt and the lower crust being subducted under Asia.”
His colleague from CUGB, Professor Chengshan Wang adds, “Our objective was to understand which of these models was more accurate.”
The researchers dealt with several concerns surrounding these concerns through a combined geologic, paleontologic, and paleomagnetic research study of the notorious Sangdanlin section. The paleomagnetism of the Cretaceous rocks permitted the researchers to track the geographical position of the northern sector of the Indian Plate through time and compute a minimum size for Greater India.
Reconstruction through time (top) revealing the Indian Plate breaking away from the Gondwana supercontinent and subducting under Asia, thus helping to produce the worlds highest topography, i.e., Mount Everest (bottom). Credit: Jun Meng from China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Prof. Stuart A. Gilder from Ludwig Maximilians University
Effect of Research on Tectonic Understanding
The information obtained in the research study revealed that the lithosphere– the rocky external shell of the Earth– taken in by subduction since the start of the crash 55 million years back was bigger than the area of the Indian subcontinent today and initially extended ~ 2,000 to 3,000 km to the north. Subsequently, almost 5 million km ² of lithosphere has been subducted under the Asian Plate, which need to have added to the increase of the Tibetan Plateau.
These findings represent a tectonic shift in our understanding of the India– Asia crash and the emergence of different geological structures in these areas.
Prof. Stuart A. Gilder from Ludwig Maximilians University observes, “Our findings challenge developed notions of the development of Asias southern margin through the coalescence of independent tectonic blocks in the Tethys Ocean. They might assist us fill the gap in the understanding concerning the size of the Indian plate in a Gondwanaland configuration and the tectonic history of India up till its accident with Asia.”
Disruptive discoveries advance human knowledge in bounds and leaps. Kudos to the research study group for contributing to such a discovery!
Reference: “Strengthening the argument for a large Greater India” by Jun Meng, Stuart A. Gilder, Xiaodong Tan, Xin Li, Yalin Li, Hui Luo, Noritoshi Suzuki, Zihao Wang, Yuchen Chi, Chunyang Zhang and Chengshan Wang, 8 August 2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.DOI: 10.1073/ pnas.2305928120.
About Professor Chengshan Wang.
Chengshan Wang is a Professor at the School of Earth Sciences and Resources.
His research study interests include the Cretaceous paleoenvironment and paleoclimate, tectonic uplift and sedimentary action, and analysis of petroliferous basins. With over 19,000 citations, he is a leader in the field of uplift of mountain varieties and has actually thoroughly studied the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan variety.
About Professor Jun Meng.
Dr. Jun Meng is a professor at the School of Earth Sciences and Resources at the China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China. Prof. Mengs research interests include paleomagnetism and tectonics. He has actually authored over 20 research study papers in reputed clinical journals and has over 1,000 citations to his credit.
Supplying essential answers, researchers from China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (CUGB) in addition to colleagues from other institutions, consisting of Ludwig Maximilians University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have actually now clarified that Greater India was a single plate of 2,000 to 3,000 km before it subducted under Asia.
Recent research study has actually exposed that Greater India, before its crash with Asia, was a single tectonic plate as much as 3,000 kilometers large, changing our understanding of Himalayan and Tibetan Plateau development.
Engaging brand-new evidence fixes discrepant analyses and supports the large size of Greater India.
Hundreds of countless years back, the surface of the Earth looked really various from how we see it today. There were just 2 continents: Laurasia and Gondwanaland. The present Indian subcontinent was part of Gondwanaland, which separated about 150 million years back. A part of the Indian Plate that broke away from the Gondwana supercontinent is now subducted under the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. Comprehending the original extent of the lost part of this continent, called Greater India, is therefore essential to resolve several key questions surrounding the age of the India– Asia collision and answer how and when the Tibetan Plateau got built.
Research Study on Geological Convergence
Nevertheless, price quotes of the degree of Greater India have actually remained unpredictable, differing from 100s to more than 2,000 km. The Sangdanlin area lying between the Asian and indian plates in southern Tibet represents a geologic Rosetta stone to constrain the initiation of the India– Asia collision; however, divergent evidence regarding its age and paleomagnetic record has actually made the evaluation tough.
A part of the Indian Plate that broke away from the Gondwana supercontinent is now subducted under the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. Understanding the initial extent of the lost part of this continent, called Greater India, is therefore essential to deal with numerous crucial concerns surrounding the age of the India– Asia collision and answer how and when the Tibetan Plateau got developed.
The very first is a multistage crash design that subdivides the oceanic basin at the leading edge of India into smaller sized plates that were later on included into the Asian plate. The 2nd model states that India and Greater India existed as a single plate in the Early Cretaceous period, with the upper crust of the northern margin of Greater India forming the Himalayan thrust belt and the lower crust being subducted under Asia.”
Prof. Mengs research study interests include paleomagnetism and tectonics.