Long-term growth of the Himalaya inferred from interseismic InSAR measurement
Résumé
The rise and support of the ~5000 m topographic scarp at the front of Indian-Eurasian collision in the Himalaya involves long-term uplift above a mid-crustal ramp within the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) system. Locking of the shallower portion of the flat-ramp-flat during the interseismic period also produces transient uplift above the transition zone. However, spatial and temporal relationships between permanent and transient vertical deformation in the Himalaya are poorly constrained, leading to an unresolved causal relationship between the two. Here, we use synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) to measure interseismic uplift on a transect crossing the whole Himalaya in Central Nepal. The uplift velocity of 7 mm/yr at the front of the Annapurnas is explained by a 18–21 mm/yr slip rate on the deep shallow-dipping portion of the MHT, with full locking of the mid-crustal ramp underlying the High Range. The transient uplift peak observed by InSAR matches spatially with the long-term uplift peak deduced from the study of trans-Himalayan rivers incision, although models of the seismic cycle involving thrusting over a ramp of fixed geometry predict a ~20 km separation between the two peaks. We argue that this coincidence indicates that today’s mid-crustal ramp in Central Nepal is located southward with respect to its average long-term location, suggesting that mountain growth proceeds by frontward migration of the ramp driven by underplating of material from the Indian plate under the Himalaya.
Domaines
Géophysique [physics.geo-ph]
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
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