The metamorphic core of the Himalaya in the Kali Gandaki valley of central Nepal corresponds to a 5-km-thick sequence of upper amphibolite facies metasedimentary rocks. This Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) thrusts over the greenschist to lower amphibolite facies Lesser Himalayan Sequence (LHS) along the Lower Miocene Main Central Thrust (MCT), and it is separated from the overlying low-grade Tethyan Zone (TZ) by the Annapurna Detachment. Structural, petrographic, geothermobarometric and thermochronological data demonstrate that two major tectonometamorphic events characterize the evolution of the GHS. The first (Eohimalayan) episode included prograde, kyanite-grade metamorphism, during which the GHS was buried at depths greater than c. 35 km. A nappe structure in the lowermost TZ suggests that the Eohimalayan phase was associated with underthrusting of the GHS below the TZ. A c. 37 Ma 40Ar/39Ar hornblende date indicates a Late Eocene age for this phase. The second (Neohimalayan) event corresponded to a retrograde phase of kyanite-grade recrystallization, related to thrust emplacement of the GHS on the LHS. Prograde mineral assemblages in the MCT zone equilibrated at average T =880 K (610 °C) and P =940 MPa (=35 km), probably close to peak of metamorphic conditions. Slightly higher in the GHS, final equilibration of retrograde assemblages occurred at average T =810 K (540 °C) and P=650 MPa (=24 km), indicating re-equilibration during exhumation controlled by thrusting along the MCT and extension along the Annapurna Detachment. These results suggest an earlier equilibration in the MCT zone compared with higher levels, as a consequence of a higher cooling rate in the basal part of the GHS during its thrusting on the colder LHS. The Annapurna Detachment is considered to be a Neohimalayan, synmetamorphic structure, representing extensional reactivation of the Eohimalayan thrust along which the GHS initially underthrust the TZ. Within the upper GHS, a metamorphic discontinuity across a mylonitic shear zone testifies to significant, late- to post-metamorphic, out-of-sequence thrusting. The entire GHS cooled homogeneously below 600–700 K (330–430 °C) between 15 and 13 Ma (Middle Miocene), suggesting a rapid tectonic exhumation by movement on late extensional structures at higher structural levels. 相似文献
This article presents results from a series of Ko-consolidated compression and extension triaxial tests on specimens from undisturbed samples of Hong Kong Marine Deposits (HKMD). To investigate the strain-rate effects, a total of seven Ko-consolidated triaxial tests were conducted including four compression tests and three extension tests. After Ko-consolidation, the triaxial test specimens were sheared at step-changed axial strain rates under three different confining pressures of 50 kPa, 150 kPa, and 400 kPa, respectively. The step-changed strain rates were applied in the following order: +2%/h, +0.2%/h, +20%/h, -2%/h (unloading) and +2%/h (reloading) for the four compression tests and -2%/h, -0.2%/h, -20%/h, +2%/h (unloading) and -2%/h (reloading) for the three extension tests. The results are reported and analyzed in the paper. The results show that the strain rate effects, the stress-strain characteristics, and the effective stress paths of the specimens for tests in a compression state are different from those for tests in an extension stage. One order of magnitude increase in axial strain rate causes an average 8.6% increase in undrained shear strength for compression tests and a 12.1% increase for extension tests. It is also found that the failure mode of the specimens in compression is different from that in extension. The stress-strain behavior of specimens shows strain-softening and a clear shear band in compression tests, but strain-hardening without any clear shear band in extension tests for the same absolute value of axial strain. 相似文献