Collaborative Research: Deep Seismic Investigation of Continental Collision in Southern Tibet (INDEPTH II)

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9316569 Nelson Following the successful completion in the summer of 1992 of a pilot study (INDEPTH I) of deep seismic profiling in Tibet, the next phase of the study (INDEPTH II) involves the acquisition and analysis of some 200 km of deep seismic reflection profile, together with complementary wide-angle and off-line (sparse 3-D) reflection data, and surface geological information, along a traverse extending across the northern Tethyan Himalaya, Indus- Tsangpo suture zone, and Gangdese batholith in southern Tibet. The acquired data will provide new and possibly fundamental insight into the mechanism by which continental crust is deformed and thickened within the Himalaya/Tibet plateau collision zone-the type example of active continent/continent collision on Earth. The project will be undertaken collaboratively with the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources of China (MGMR) on the principle of equal cost sharing, and will use an MGMR seismic reflection crew for data acquisition and to provide the seismic source for wide-angle and off-line recording. On the U.S. side, the program will involve direct grants to Cornell and Syracuse Universities for overall project coordination and data acquisition/processing, and to Stanford University for wide- angle/off-line recording. Investigators from Columbia University and the State University of New York at Albany will also be involved in data interpretation, coordination with MGMR, and acquisition of surface geological data along the transect. ***