@article{GovinvanderBeekNajmanetal.2020, author = {Govin, Gwladys and van der Beek, Peter and Najman, Yani and Millar, Ian and Gemignani, Lorenzo and Huyghe, Pascale and Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume and Bernet, Matthias and Mark, Chris and Wijbrans, Jan}, title = {Early onset and late acceleration of rapid exhumation in the Namche Barwa syntaxis, eastern Himalaya}, series = {Geology}, volume = {48}, journal = {Geology}, number = {12}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Boulder}, issn = {0091-7613}, doi = {10.1130/G47720.1}, pages = {1139 -- 1143}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The Himalayan syntaxes, characterized by extreme rates of rock exhumation co-located with major trans-orogenic rivers, figure prominently in the debate on tectonic versus erosional forcing of exhumation. Both the mechanism and timing of rapid exhumation of the Namche Barwa massif in the eastern syntaxis remain controversial. It has been argued that coupling between crustal rock advection and surface erosion initiated in the late Miocene (8-10 Ma). Recent studies, in contrast, suggest a Quaternary onset of rapid exhumation linked to a purely tectonic mechanism. We report new multisystem detrital thermochronology data from the most proximal Neogene clastic sediments downstream of Namche Barwa and use a thermo-kinematic model constrained by new and published data to explore its exhumation history. Modeling results show that exhumation accelerated to similar to 4 km/m.y. at ca. 8 Ma and to similar to 9 km/m.y. after ca. 2 Ma. This three-stage history reconciles apparently contradictory evidence for early and late onset of rapid exhumation and suggests efficient coupling between tectonics and erosion since the late Miocene. Quaternary acceleration of exhumation is consistent with river-profile evolution and may be linked to a Quaternary river-capture event.}, language = {en} } @article{GovinNajmanDupontNivetetal.2018, author = {Govin, Gwladys and Najman, Yani and Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume and Millar, Ian and van der Beek, Peter and Huyghe, Pascale and Mark, Chris and Vogeli, Natalie}, title = {The tectonics and paleo-drainage of the easternmost Himalaya (Arunachal Pradesh, India) recorded in the Siwalik rocks of the foreland basin}, series = {American Journal of Science}, volume = {318}, journal = {American Journal of Science}, number = {7}, publisher = {Kline Geology Laboratory, Yale University}, address = {New Haven}, issn = {0002-9599}, doi = {10.2475/07.2018.02}, pages = {764 -- 798}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The Siwalik sedimentary rocks of the Himalayan foreland basin preserve a record of Himalayan orogenesis, paleo-drainage evolution, and erosion. This study focuses on the still poorly studied easternmost Himalaya Siwalik record located directly downstream of the Namche Barwa syntaxis. We use luminescence, palaeomagnetism, magnetostratigraphy, and apatite fission-track dating to constrain the depositional ages of three Siwalik sequences: the Sibo outcrop (Upper Siwalik sediments at ca. 200-800 ka), the Remi section (Middle and Upper Siwalik rocks at >0.8-<8.8 +/- 2.4 Ma), and the Siang section (Middle Siwalik rocks at <9.3 +/- 1.5 to <13.5 +/- 1.5 Ma). Cretaceous-Paleogene detrital zircon and apatite U-Pb ages, characteristic of the Transhimalayan Gangdese Batholiths that crop out northwest of the syntaxis, are present throughout the Sibo, Remi, and Siang successions, confirming the existence of a Yarlung-Brahmaputra connection since at least the Late Miocene. A ca. 500 Ma zircon population increases up section, most strikingly sometime between 3.6 to 6.6 Ma, at the expense of Transhimalayan grains. We consider the ca. 500 Ma population to be derived from the Tethyan or Greater Himalaya, and we interpret the up-section increase to reflect progressive exhumation of the Namche Barwa syntaxis. Early Cretaceous zircon and apatite U-Pb ages are rare in the Sibo, Remi, and Siang successions, but abundant in modern Siang River sediments. Zircons of this age range are characteristic of the Transhimalayan Bomi-Chayu batholiths, which crop out east of the syntaxis and are eroded by the Parlung River, a modern tributary of the Siang River. We interpret the difference in relative abundance of Early Cretaceous zircons between the modern and ancient sediments to reflect capture of the Parlung by the Siang after 800 ka.}, language = {en} } @article{BlayneyDupontNivetNajmanetal.2019, author = {Blayney, Tamsin and Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume and Najman, Yani and Proust, Jean-Noel and Meijer, Niels and Roperch, Pierrick and Sobel, Edward and Millar, Ian and Guo, Zhaojie}, title = {Tectonic Evolution of the Pamir Recorded in the Western Tarim Basin (China)}, series = {Tectonics}, volume = {38}, journal = {Tectonics}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Geophysical Union}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0278-7407}, doi = {10.1029/2018TC005146}, pages = {492 -- 515}, year = {2019}, abstract = {The northward indentation of the Pamir salient into the Tarim basin at the western syntaxis of the India-Asia collision zone is the focus of controversial models linking lithospheric to surface and atmospheric processes. Here we report on tectonic events recorded in the most complete and best-dated sedimentary sequences from the western Tarim basin flanking the eastern Pamir (the Aertashi section), based on sedimentologic, provenance, and magnetostratigraphic analyses. Increased tectonic subsidence and a shift from marine to continental fluvio-deltaic deposition at 41Ma indicate that far-field deformation from the south started to affect the Tarim region. A sediment accumulation hiatus from 24.3 to 21.6Ma followed by deposition of proximal conglomerates is linked to fault propagation into the Tarim basin. From 21.6 to 15.0Ma, increasing accumulation rates of fining upward clastics is interpreted as the expression of a major dextral transtensional system linking the Kunlun to the Tian Shan ahead of the northward Pamir indentation. At 15.0Ma, the appearance of North Pamir-sourced conglomerates followed at 11Ma by Central Pamir-sourced volcanics coincides with a shift to E-W compression, clockwise vertical-axis rotations and the onset of growth strata associated with the activation of the local east vergent Qimugen thrust wedge. Together, this enables us to interpret that Pamir indentation into Tarim had started by 24.3Ma, reached the study location by 15.0Ma and had passed it by 11Ma, providing kinematic constraints on proposed tectonic models involving intracontinental subduction and delamination.}, language = {en} } @article{ZhangNajmanMeietal.2019, author = {Zhang, Peng and Najman, Yani and Mei, Lianfu and Millar, Ian and Sobel, Edward and Carter, Andrew and Barfod, Dan and Dhuime, Bruno and Garzanti, Eduardo and Govin, Gwladys and Vezzoli, Giovanni and Hu, Xiaolin}, title = {Palaeodrainage evolution of the large rivers of East Asia, and Himalayan-Tibet tectonics}, series = {Earth science reviews}, volume = {192}, journal = {Earth science reviews}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0012-8252}, doi = {10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.02.003}, pages = {601 -- 630}, year = {2019}, abstract = {A number of sedimentary provenance studies have been undertaken in order to determine whether the palaeo-Red River was once a river of continental proportions into which the upper reaches of the Yangtze, Salween, Mekong, Irrawaddy, and Yarlung drained. We have assessed the evidence that the Yarlung originally flowed into the palaeo-Red river, and then sequentially into the Irrawaddy and Brahmaputra, connecting to the latter first via the Lohit and then the Siang. For this river system, we have integrated our new data from the Paleogene-Recent Irrawaddy drainage basin (detrital zircon U-Pb with Hf and fission track, rutile U-Pb, mica Ar-Ar, bulk rock Sr-Nd, and petrography) with previously published data, to produce a palaeodrainage model that is consistent with all datasets. In our model, the Yarlung never flowed into the Irrawaddy drainage: during the Paleogene, the Yarlung suture zone was an internally drained basin, and from Neogene times onwards the Yarlung drained into the Brahmaputra in the Bengal Basin. The Central Myanmar Basin, through which the Irrawaddy River flows today, received predominantly locally-derived detritus until the Middle Eocene, the Irrawaddy initiated as a through-going river draining the Mogok Metamorphic Belt and Bomi-Chayu granites to the north sometime in the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene, and the river was dominated by a stable MMB-dominated drainage throughout the Neogene to present day. Existing evidence does not support any connection between the Yarlung and the Red River in the past, but there is a paucity of suitable palaeo-Red River deposits with which to make a robust comparison. We argue that this limitation also precludes a robust assessment of a palaeo-connection between the Yangtze/ Salween/Mekong and the Red River; it is difficult to unequivocally interpret the recorded provenance changes as the result of specific drainage reorganisations. We highlight the palaeo-Red River deposits of the Hanoi Basin as a potential location for future research focus in view of the near-complete Cenozoic record of palaeo-Red River deposits at this location. A majority of previous studies consider that if a major continental-scale drainage ever existed at all, it fragmented early in the Cenozoic. Such a viewpoint would agree with the growing body of evidence from palaeoaltitude studies that large parts of SE Tibet were uplifted by this period. This then leads towards the intriguing question as to the mechanisms which caused the major period of river incision in the Miocene in this region.}, language = {en} } @article{BlayneyNajmanDupontNivetetal.2016, author = {Blayney, Tamsin and Najman, Yani and Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume and Carter, Andrew and Millar, Ian and Garzanti, Eduardo and Sobel, Edward and Rittner, Martin and Ando, Sergio and Guo, Zhaojie and Vezzoli, Giovanni}, title = {Indentation of the Pamirs with respect to the northern margin of Tibet: Constraints from the Tarim basin sedimentary record}, series = {Tectonics}, volume = {35}, journal = {Tectonics}, publisher = {American Geophysical Union}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0278-7407}, doi = {10.1002/2016TC004222}, pages = {2345 -- 2369}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The Pamirs represent the indented westward continuation of the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, dividing the Tarim and Tajik basins. Their evolution may be a key factor influencing aridification of the Asian interior, yet the tectonics of the Pamir Salient are poorly understood. We present a provenance study of the Aertashi section, a Paleogene to late Neogene clastic succession deposited in the Tarim basin to the north of the NW margin of Tibet (the West Kunlun) and to the east of the Pamirs. Our detrital zircon U-Pb ages coupled with zircon fission track, bulk rock Sm-Nd, and petrography data document changes in contributing source terranes during the Oligocene to Miocene, which can be correlated to regional tectonics. We propose a model for the evolution of the Pamir and West Kunlun (WKL), in which the WKL formed topography since at least similar to 200 Ma. By similar to 25 Ma, movement along the Pamir-bounding faults such as the Kashgar-Yecheng Transfer System had commenced, marking the onset of Pamir indentation into the Tarim-Tajik basin. This is coincident with basinward expansion of the northern WKL margin, which changed the palaeodrainage pattern within the Kunlun, progressively cutting off the more southerly WKL sources from the Tarim basin. An abrupt change in the provenance and facies of sediments at Aertashi has a maximum age of 14 Ma; this change records when the Pamir indenter had propagated sufficiently far north that the North Pamir was now located proximal to the Aertashi region.}, language = {en} }