Cenozoic India-Asia collision driven by mantle dragging the cratonic root

Abstract

The driving force behind the Cenozoic India-Asia collision remains elusive. Using global-scale geodynamic modeling, we find that the continuous motion of the Indian plate is driven by a prominent upper-mantle flow pushing the thick Indian lithospheric root, originated from the northward rollover of the detached Neo-Tethyan slab and sinking slabs below East Asia. The maximum mantle drag occurs within the strong Indian lithosphere and is comparable in magnitude to that of slab pull (1013N m−1). The thick cratonic root enhances both lithosphere-asthenosphere coupling and upper-plate compressional stress, thereby sustaining the topography of Tibetan Plateau. We show that the calculated resistant force from the India-Asia plate boundary is also close to that due to the gravitational potential energy of Tibetan Plateau. Here, we demonstrate that this mantle flow is key for the formation of the Tibetan Plateau and represents part of a hemispheric convergent flow pattern centered on central Asia.