Active Deformation in the Greater Himalayan Zone in Western Nepal from Inversion of New (U-Th)/He Cooling Ages

Abstract:

Much of the central Himalaya features an abrupt rise in mean elevation from ~1.5 km in the Lesser Himalaya to ~4-5 km Greater Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau. This physiographic transition is known as PT2, and is often interpreted as the surface expression of transport over a ramp in the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT). In western Nepal, however, the same rise in elevation occurs over two distinct topographic steps (PT2-N and PT2-S). In previous work, Harvey et al. (2015) argue that this anomalous topography is the result of recent southward-migration of mid-crustal deformation along the MHT. Due to the seismogenic potential of the MHT it is important to constrain its geometry in the western Nepal seismic gap, which has not had a large earthquake in over 600 years.

To test the above hypothesis, we perform [U-Th]/He dating on 39 apatite and 47 zircon samples collected along seven relief transects throughout western Nepal. We constrain exhumation histories by inverting these new cooling ages with the 3-D thermo-kinematic model Pecube. Five transects collected from the Greater Himalaya north of PT2-N are best fit by relatively rapid exhumation rates (~1-2 km/Myr) since ~4 Ma. The other two, collected from farther south near PT2-S, require rapid (~1-2 km/Myr) exhumation until around 8-11 Ma, followed by much slower (~0.1-0.2 km/Myr) exhumation until at least the late Pliocene.

Assuming that exhumation rates reflect uplift rates, the rapid Plio-Pleistocene exhumation in the Greater Himalaya north of PT2-N suggest that this physiographic transition is similar to that at the foot of the Greater Himalaya in central Nepal. It follows that active deformation is occurring along a NW-trend as much as 100 km farther north than would be expected if simply projecting PT2 across western Nepal. This finding is consistent with transport over a more northerly MHT ramp or perhaps oblique slip along the recently identified, surface-breaking WNFZ. Although the geomorphology and microseismicity along PT2-S hints at rejuvenated uplift in this zone, late Miocene cooling ages require very slow rock uplift for much of its post-Miocene history. This does not rule out the hypothesized young mid-crustal duplex, but it limits the magnitude of associated uplift and exhumation.