Review ten key geological issues of the Tibetan Plateau -commemoration of the centennial anniversary of Acta Geologica Sinica

Abstract

In this paper, the authors re-examine the key scientific issues concerning the evolution of the Tibetan Plateau, in order to help the sea-born plate tectonic to "land". We also aim to provide new information for the study of continental lithosphere evolution in convergent margins, as well as energy resources, geological hazards and global environmental effects of these regions. The authors summarize ten key geoscientific issues as follows: ① drifting process of the Indian Continent; ② timing of initial India-Asia continental collision; ③ Paleo-Tethys Orogeny in the Tibetan Plateau; ④ crustal shortening of the Eo-Himalaya; ⑤ anataxis mechanism of the High Himalaya; ⑥ timing of the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau; ⑦ relationship between the Asian monsoon and the geodynamic evolution of the Tibetan Plateau; ⑧ distribution and genesis of the new energy mineral resources in the Tibetan Plateau; ⑨ active fault zones of Tibetan plateau and their seismogenic mechanism; ⑩ deep geodynamics discussion: where goes the post-collisional Indian plate? The authors hope these discussions would inspire new ideas to study the continental geodynamics of the Tibetan Plateau.