The Lateral Extent and Tectonic Significance of Late Miocene/Pliocene Inverted Metamorphism in the Himalaya

在正常情况下，地壳的热量和压力随着深度的增加而增加，然而，在构造变形带中，有许多反向变质梯度的情况被很好地记录下来。这项研究包括收集数据，以检验两种相互竞争的“颠倒”变质序列假说。一种假说认为，较热的岩石被冲到较冷的岩石之上，而较冷的岩石从上面被加热，从而产生了一个反向的热变质序列。第二个假说认为，先前变质的岩石一旦冷却，就会被冲断到其他先前变质但品位较低的岩石之上。这导致了古变质条件等级的上下梯度，但并不反映瞬时的上下温度梯度。研究结果对于理解逆变质作用的构造意义具有重要意义。

9614869 Harrison Under normal circumstances, heat and pressure increase with depth in the earth's crust, however a number of cases of inverted metamorphic gradients are well documented in zones of tectonic deformation. This study involves the collection of data that will allow the testing of two competing hypotheses of "up-side-down" metamorphic sequences. One hypothesis holds that warmer rocks are thrust over cooler rocks which became heated from above, - producing an inverted thermal metamorphic sequence. The second hypothesis proposes that previously metamorphosed rocks, once cooled, are thrust over other previously metamorphosed but lower grade rocks. This leads to an up-side down gradient in the grade of ancient metamorphic conditions but does not reflect an instantaneous up-side-down temperature gradient. Results will be important in understanding the tectonic significance of many examples of inverse metamorphism.