Lithospheric structure and geodynamic properties of the Tibetan plateau and its adjacent regions

• 来源期刊: 地震学报（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2012,（5）
• 页码范围: 353-362
• 页数: 10页
• 语种: 英文
• DOI: 10.1007/s11589-012-0861-3

摘要

The Tibetan plateau has an elevation of 4-5 km above sea level and a crustal thickness of ～80 km (Zhao et al.,2010d),and its ongoing tectonic evolution is one of the most important Meso-Cenozoic events affecting our planet today.The Tibetan plateau influences global climate,especially in the northern hemisphere,and the structural behavior of the crust and mantle in this region actively controls the development and evolution of the entire geodynamic regime.The Tibetan plateau was generated by continental collision and postcollisional,intra-continental deformation of the Indian and Eurasian plates beginning ～50 Ma.Total tectonic shortening between the two plates is estimated to be at least 1 000-1 400 km,and may be as much as 2 000-3 000 km.Although understanding the tectonic processes involved in forming the plateau has attracted the interest of geoscientists from all over the world,the mechanisms by which this shortening has been accommodated is still unknown.