The Gangdese thrust: a phantom structure that did not raise Tibet

Detailed field investigations do not support the existence of a ‘Gangdese thrust’ along the Yarlung Tsangpo suture zone in southern Tibet. A relationship where Lhasa terrane rocks are thrust southwards over components of this zone was not observed over 2000 km of the suture. On the contrary, at the type locality of this ‘Gangdese thrust’, Miocene conglomerates unconformably overlie an eroded surface of Lhasa terrane rocks. Interpretations that invoke Late Oligocene – Early Miocene south‐directed thrusting on a ‘Gangdese thrust’ as a mechanism for uplift of the Tibetan Plateau must therefore be reassessed.     

Paleogene island arc collision-related conglomerates, Yarlung–Tsangpo suture zone, Tibet

Coarse clastic rocks in the Liuqu Conglomerate, formed in both terrestrial and subaqueous settings, record a Paleogene phase in the tectonic evolution of Tibet. Facies changes are commonly abrupt with rapid changes in clast types, grain size and stratal patterns. Sediments were derived from the leading (northern) edge of the Indian margin and a Late Jurassic–Cretaceous intraoceanic island arc that lay within Tethys. The coarse clastic sedimentary rocks of the Liuqu conglomerates are extremely proximal, but are locally offset relative to their original source terranes. They record aspects of the history of collision between these terranes and are interpreted to have been deposited in oblique–slip basins that developed along the zone of collision. The absence of clasts derived from terranes to the north of the Yarlung–Tsangpo suture suggests that basins associated with deposition of the Liuqu Conglomerate developed prior to the final collision between India and Asia.     

OSL dating of past lake levels for a large dammed lake in southern Tibet and determination of possible controls on lake evolution

Fluvio‐lacustrine terraces along Phung Chu (river) on the central southern Tibetan Plateau indicate that a large palaeo‐dammed‐lake formerly existed in this area. Based on landscape survey, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and sedimentary analyses, this research shows that the Phung Chu was blocked and a dammed‐lake over 2500 km² in size formed before 30 ka ago. OSL dating analysis suggests the fluvio‐lacustrine sediments were well bleached and yield accurate age estimates for two lake drainage events. The first drainage event took place after 30 ka, resulted in river incision and formed a high terrace at 50 m height from the present river level. The second drainage happened after 3.7 ka, resulted in further river incision and formed the second terrace at 25 m height from the present river level. According to the distribution of the fluvio‐lacustrine sediments, active normal faults (particularly the Kharta Fault) in this region and the high gradient slopes after Phung Chu enters the Yö Ri gorge, seismically‐induced landsliding is regarded as highly likely to have been the cause of river blockage and associated formation of a dammed‐lake, although glacial damming is also a possible cause. The volume of drainages from this dammed‐lake may have led to catastrophic flooding and analogous modern lakes represent significant geo‐hazard risks to down‐river human settlements. As dammed‐lakes are special phases in fluvial evolution, often involving river blockage, breakthrough and drastic catchment change, these processes can reveal how tectonic or climatic events modify landforms. However, such tectonic‐derived landform changes can also impact palaeo‐climate of the region. Thus this study has added new evidence regarding the evolutionary history of a dammed lake including its formation, duration, extent and final drainage, which is crucial for understanding its general landscape process mechanisms and for better assessing geo‐hazard risks. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tectonic implications of felsic tuffs within the Lower Miocene Gangrinboche conglomerates,southern Tibet

Felsic tuffs are interbedded with the Gangrinboche conglomerates adjacent to the Yarlung Tsangpo suture zone in southern Tibet. Laser Ar/Ar dating of mineral separates indicates they are of Early Miocene age. Such tuffs are most likely an eruptive manifestation of geochemically indistinguishable coeval felsic (adakitic) intrusions that are widely reported across southern Tibet. The considerable lateral (E–W) extent of the Gangrinboche conglomerates and their depositional setting indicates sediment accumulation in an overall N–S compressional regime and thereby places important constraints on the tectonic setting in which magmatism initiated. The conglomerates were folded and truncated during back-thrusting associated with development of the north-directed Great Counter thrust. As N–S trending rifts associated with E–W extension of the Tibetan Plateau cut both the conglomerates and this thrust system it can be inferred that post-collisional volcanism is unlikely to have been genetically linked to later E–W extension. Early Miocene slab break-off beneath Tibet provides a model that appears to be consistent with petrogenesis of the associated magmatic suite, which requires a lowermost crust or lithospheric mantle generation, molasse accumulation, and uplift and emplacement of North Himalayan gneiss domes.     

On criteria for measures of compositional difference

Simple perceptions about the nature of compositions lead through logical necessity to certain forms of analysis of compositional data. In this paper the consequences of essential requirements of scale, perturbation and permutation invariance, together with that of subcompositional dominance, are applied to the problem of characterizing change and measures of difference between two compositions. It will be shown that one strongly advocated scalar measure of difference fails these tests of logical necessity, and that one particular form of scalar measure of difference (the sum of the squares of all possible logratio differences in the components of the two compositions), although not unique, emerges as the simplest and most tractable satisfying the criteria.     

西藏南部羊卓绒错混杂岩中的提索期放射虫

羊卓绒错混杂岩是一条长达2 000 km的构造破碎岩带,出露于西藏南部雅鲁藏布江缝合带以南.该缝合带于新生代欧亚碰撞后闭合,记录了特提斯海洋中的残留部分.混杂岩发育于印度板块北部大陆边缘与其以北地体的一次大的碰撞事件中.这次碰撞到底是欧亚碰撞的主事件还是一次早期碰撞事件尚不确定.由于混杂岩是碰撞期间地层不断破碎而形成的,因此地层中的任何岩石古生物学资料对于确定混杂岩的成因及形成时代是有意义的.该混杂岩中发育大量的放射虫硅质岩和燧石,它们可以提供大量的古生物学证据.文中所描述的提索期放射虫,采自于江孜县白洒村附近的一个原地岩块.为典型的东特提斯属种,可与西特提斯的属种对比,其中大部分属种为主要属种,有稳定的地层时限分布,如:Archaeodictyomitra apiarium(Rust),Archaeodictyomitra minoensis(Mizutani), Archaeodictyomitra patricki Jud,Eucyrtidiellium pyramis(Atta),和Protunuma japonicus Matsuoka &Yao,它们分别对应于在西特提斯所建立起来的“统一组合区带”(Unitary Association Zone)的8—22,9—12,13—22,12—13,7—12区带,尤其是后4个放射虫种,有非常短的地层分布,能够将地层年代确定得非常具体.这对于西藏广泛分布的海相含放射虫岩石地层来说,是一个非常有效的     

Compositional Data Analysis: Where Are We and Where Should We Be Heading?

We take stock of the present position of compositional data analysis, of what has been achieved in the last 20 years, and then make suggestions as to what may be sensible avenues of future research. We take an uncompromisingly applied mathematical view, that the challenge of solving practical problems should motivate our theoretical research; and that any new theory should be thoroughly investigated to see if it may provide answers to previously abandoned practical considerations.