Has focused denudation sustained active thrusting at the Himalayan topographic front?

Abstract

Research Article| October 01, 2003 Has focused denudation sustained active thrusting at the Himalayan topographic front? Cameron W. Wobus; Cameron W. Wobus 1Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Kip V. Hodges; Kip V. Hodges 1Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Kelin X. Whipple Kelin X. Whipple 1Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2003) 31 (10): 861–864. https://doi.org/10.1130/G19730.1 Article history received: 15 Apr 2003 rev-recd: 05 Jun 2003 accepted: 06 Jun 2003 first online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Cameron W. Wobus, Kip V. Hodges, Kelin X. Whipple; Has focused denudation sustained active thrusting at the Himalayan topographic front?. Geology 2003;; 31 (10): 861–864. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G19730.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The geomorphic character of major river drainages in the Himalayan foothills of central Nepal suggests the existence of a discrete, west-northwest–trending break in rock uplift rates that does not correspond to previously mapped faults. The 40Ar/39Ar thermochronologic data from detrital muscovites with provenance from both sides of the discontinuity indicate that this geomorphic break also corresponds to a major discontinuity in cooling ages: samples to the south are Proterozoic to Paleozoic, whereas those to the north are Miocene and younger. Combined, these observations virtually require recent (Pliocene–Holocene) motion on a thrust-sense shear zone in the central Nepal Himalaya, ∼20–30 km south of the Main Central thrust. Field observations are consistent with motion on a broad shear zone subparallel to the fabric of the Lesser Himalayan lithotectonic sequence. The results suggest that motion on thrusts in the toe of the Himalayan wedge may be synchronous with deeper exhumation on more hinterland structures in central Nepal. We speculate that this continued exhumation in the hinterland may be related to intense, sustained erosion driven by focused orographic precipitation at the foot of the High Himalaya. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.