Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C513942/1
Assessing the evidence for channel flow in the metamorphic core of the Himalayan mountain belt.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr T Argles, The Open University, Environment, Earth & Ecosystems
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor NB Harris, The Open University, Faculty of Sci, Tech, Eng & Maths (STEM)
- Grant held at:
- The Open University, Environment, Earth & Ecosystems
- Science Area:
- Earth
- Overall Classification:
- Earth
- ENRIs:
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Earth Surface Processes
- Properties Of Earth Materials
- Tectonic Processes
- Climate & Climate Change
- Abstract:
- Mountain belts like the Himalayas have a profound effect on regional and even global climate as their height increases during the onset of continental collision. When continents collide, their crust is thickened by folding and thrust faulting into massive piles of material that heat up at depth to temperatures where the buried rocks become soft and start to melt. In some regions, the crust becomes so thick that its mass cannot be supported by the weak underlying mantle, and so the crust must be thinned in order to restore it to equilibrium. One way it is thought this is achieved is by squeezing out the soft, partially-molten rocks of the middle crust through a relatively narrow channel, which eventually breaks the surface along the length of the high Himalayan mountain chain. Recently, researchers have noticed that where the channel rocks finally emerge at the surface coincides with a pronounced peak in precipitation (and thus erosion). Rocks at different points across the channel have a distinctive suite of minerals, including garnet and mica, that grow during metamorphism to produce the schists and gneisses that are typically found in the core of the Himalayan mountain belt. This project will analyse the chemical compositions of these minerals to determine two things: firstly, the pressure and temperature conditions at depth when the minerals developed, and secondly, the timing of mineral growth (in the case of garnet) or cooling (for mica). Studying thin sections of the rocks under the microscope will also give us clues to how the rocks deformed as they were first buried, and then squeezed up the narrow channel towards the surface. All this information will allow us to construct a complete history for the rocks in different parts of the channel, and at its margins, from the time of burial to the period when they were being squeezed up towards the surface again in the channel. The research will provide added impetus to research into the formation and development of the Himalayan mountain chain, as well as providing insights into the origin of the Tibetan plateau. The results of the work will help inform scientists working throughout the Himalaya on all aspects of mountain-building, including prediction of earthquake and landslide hazards. In addition, this research is intricately related to current models for climate change, specifically issues concerning the initiation of the monsoon system. Precise constraints on the timing of plateau uplift and development of the Himalayan system are needed to resolve questions on the changes that occurred to atmospheric circulation as the mountain belt evolved, as well as whether the SE Asian monsoon is related closely to the Himalayan mountains, or the rise of the Tibetan plateau, or neither.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C513942/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Small Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Small Grants
This grant award has a total value of £26,956
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs |
|---|---|
| £16,437 | £10,519 |
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