US-Pakistan Cooperative Research: Toward a Better Understanding of the Pakistani Himalayas: Inferences from Remote Sensing, Field, Age and Isotopic Data

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0243015KhanDescription: This award is for support of a cooperative project between Dr. Shuhab Khan, Department of Geosciences, Idaho State University (I.S.U.), Pocatello, Idaho, Dr. J. Douglas Walker, Department of Geology, University of Kansas (U. of K.), Lawrence, Kansas and Dr. Mohammed T. Shah, Center of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar (U. of P.), Peshawar, Pakistan. The investigators plan to: (1) conduct field work in the northern Kohistan terrane in the Pakistani Himalayas to map and sample for geochemical and isotopic dating (U-Pb) of the Teru volcanics and associated rocks from the Teru-Shandur and Teru-Yasin areas; (2) conduct a program of geochronologic and isotopic investigations in the area; (3) to run a mapping exercise for the Teru volcanics in the entire northern Kohistan terrane by using space-borne data and field observations. The results will improve understanding of the age, areal distribution, and isotopic and geochemical affinities of the late-stage volcanics and their implications for the evolution of the northwest Himalayas, the syn- and post-collisional tectonothermal history of northwest Kohistan, and the Andean margin and post-collisional history of the Kohistan terrane in particular and the Himalayas in general. The investigators plan to develop and validate techniques for lithologic mapping of Kohistan arc sequences by using data from the recently deployed space-borne ASTER sensor, which can potentially be used to map vast areas in the Himalayas that are largely inaccessible.Scope: The proposed research program builds on preliminary age, geochemical, and isotopic results in the Teru-Shandur area, which were obtained by the investigators, as well as on the existing collaborative relationship between the principal investigator and U. of P. The research results will contribute to the broad understanding of collisional orogenesis. The proposed work will have an educational impact both at I.S.U. and the U. of P., as graduate students from both universities will be involved in the research. Dr. Khan received his Ph.D. in 2001 and is starting an academic and research career at Idaho State University. He will be supported by the excellent technical analytical expertise in Dr. Walker's laboratory the U. of K. A Pakistani scientist will spend two months at I.S.U. to help in the processing and interpreting of images and in the preparation of a manuscript.