Melting conditions in the modern Tibetan crust since the Miocene

Jinyu Chen (), Fabrice Gaillard (), Arnaud Villaros, Xiaosong Yang, Mickael Laumonier, Laurent Jolivet, Martyn Unsworth, Leïla Hashim, Bruno Scaillet and Guillaume Richard
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Jinyu Chen: China Earthquake Administration
Fabrice Gaillard: Université d’Orléans, CNRS, BRGM, ISTO, UMR 7327
Arnaud Villaros: Université d’Orléans, CNRS, BRGM, ISTO, UMR 7327
Xiaosong Yang: China Earthquake Administration
Mickael Laumonier: Campus Universitaire des Cézeaux
Laurent Jolivet: Université d’Orléans, CNRS, BRGM, ISTO, UMR 7327
Martyn Unsworth: University of Alberta
Leïla Hashim: University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Bruno Scaillet: Université d’Orléans, CNRS, BRGM, ISTO, UMR 7327
Guillaume Richard: Université d’Orléans, CNRS, BRGM, ISTO, UMR 7327

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Abundant granitic rocks exposed in ancient mountain belts suggest that crustal melting plays a major role in orogenic processes. However, complex field relations and superposition of multiple tectonic events make it difficult to determine the role of melting in orogenesis. In contrast, geophysical measurements image present-day crustal conditions but cannot discriminate between partial melt and aqueous fluids. Here we connect pressure–temperature paths of Himalayan Miocene crustal rocks to the present-day conditions beneath the Tibetan plateau imaged with geophysical data. We use measurements of electrical conductivity to show that 4–16% water-rich melt is required to explain the crustal conductivity in the north-western Himalaya. In southern Tibet, higher melt fractions >30% reflect a crust that is either fluid-enriched (+1% H2O) or hotter (+100 °C) compared to the Miocene crust. These melt fractions are high enough for the partially molten rocks to be significantly weaker than the solid crust.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05934-7

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