Cenozoic-Himalaya

Tectonic History:

Start with the Deccan volcanism at ~65 Ma

Followed By India – Asia Collision ~56-48 Ma

Initiation of the closing of the Tethys Sea

Beginning of Himalayan metamorphism peak ~35 Ma

(Eo-Himalayan metam.)

Final closing of the Tethys Sea

Initiation of Thrusting ~23 Ma (Main Central Thrust;

MCT)

Uplift of the Himalaya

Detailed Tectonic History of Himalaya:

Five Stages:

Stage 1: Dras volcanism; obduction of the ophiolites;

metamorphism and production of granitic melts to
buildup the Trans Himalayan Zone batholiths; Retreat of
the Tethys.

Stage 2: Uplift of the Tethyan Himalayan belt, Tethys

migrated to south over the nothern Indian cratonic part,
possibly over Vindhyan.
Stage 3: Strongest of all; during early to middle
Miocene; Initiation of thrusting (MCT); Uplift of the
Himalaya; completed the building of the major part of
the Himalaya; Marine sedimentation terminated
completely; continental fluvial sedimentation started
(Siwalik)

Stage 4: Early Pleistocene; Ice Age; Shaped the present

Himalaya, Rise of the Siwalik,

Stage 5: Recent neo-tectonic activities, possibly due to

isostatic re-adjustments after the melting of the glaciers.
Biotic History:

Start with the K-T mass extinction

Termination of giant reptiles, ammonoids, belemnoids

Reduction of gymnosperm, pteridophyte

Bloom of foraminifera, nummulites

Appearance of modern order mammals

“In the Late Cretaceous, no mammal was

larger than a house cat. By the Eocene
(40Ma) all modern orders of mammals had
evolved with some the size of a rhinoceros or
elephant”
Climatic History:

Greenhouse to
Icehouse transition Icehouse
globe
Formation of Polar Ice
caps

Drawdown of
atmospheric CO2 Greenhouse globe
Climatic History:

High CO2
 Most Acceptable Explanation of Cause and mechanism of CIE

Long-term warming
Warmer deep water
Solid CH4 turns into gas
bubble
Increase in sediment
pore pressure
Sediment failure – debris
flow
Release of huge CH4
CH4 reacts with O2 to
form CO2
 High bottom temp., lower
dissolved O2, change in
surface productivity, more
corrosive water
Modified after Katz et al., Science (1999)
Eocene-Oligocene Boundary:

Icehouse
globe
Greenhouse
to icehouse
transition
2CO2 + 3H2O + CaAl2Si2O8 = Ca+2 + 2HCO3- + Al2~33
Si2OMa5(OH)4

Greenhouse
globe

pCO2 decrease; pCO2 increase;

Temp. decrease Temp. increase
Tectonic forcing Hypothesis on Climate
Low air
pressure Silicate Weathering Hypothesis

Moist air

Higher precipitation

Silicate weathering

2CO2 + 3H2O + CaAl2Si2O8 = Ca+2 + 2HCO3- + Al2Si2O5(OH)4

Prell and Kutzbach, 1992

 Summary
Himalayan-Tibetan Affects local
Uplift climate

Lowers
Affects silicate atmospheric
weathering rate CO2 conc.

Lowers Global South Hemisphere

Temperature Ice cap formation
~33 Ma
 understand this Tectonic-Climate
connection from rock records we
need answer to

Two most important questions are

• When Himalayan exhumation, erosion started?

• When South Asian monsoon initiated?

To check whether they are really linked or not

The Himalayan foreland: Western Himalaya
Continental
Siwalik
Group
Continental
Kasauli
Formation

Palaeogene
Continental
Dagshai
Formation

Unconformity
Marine
Subathu
Formation

Unconformity
Grater Himalaya

Precambrian
Basement
Cross Section
Chronology and Unconformity debate
Early Miocene, ~22 Ma,
Kasauli
Formation Najman et al., 1997

~29.4 ± 2.2 Ma (Najman et al., Deposited

2004) Detrital muscovite between
<31 and
Continental
~28 Ma (Najman et al., 1997)
Detrital muscovite
<22 Ma
Dagshai
Formation
~31 Ma (Najman et al., 2004 and
Jain et al., 2009) Fission track
White
Proposed
Sandstone dating of detrital zircon Unconformity
of ~10 Ma
Marine

Subathu
Formation
~44 Ma from Larger benthic
~~~~
foraminiferal zone (Bhatia, 1978;
U.C.
Bhatia and Bhargava, 2005)
Precambrian
Basement
Subathu-Dagshai Transition ~31
Ma
Dagshai ~28 Ma (Najman et al., 1997)
(Continental) Detrital muscovite

~31 Ma (Najman et al., 2004 and

White Sandstone
Jain et al., 2009) Fission track
(Continental) dating of detrital zircon
Unconformity
Subathu ~44 Ma from Larger benthic
(Marine) foraminiferal zone (Bhatia, 1978;
Bhatia and Bhargava, 2005)

Najman et al., 2004 --------- propose a thrust propagation

model for the transition.
 Subathu Formation: Sedimentology
Black/gray Subathu Red Subathu Total logged
thickness
~1000m

Low energy
shallow
marine setting
with variety
of mass flow
deposits.
Planolite, Chondrite and Thalassinoid ichnofossil assemblage

Indicate shallow marine setup

 Depositional age in question
The foraminifera fossils
present in the Subathu
Formation rocks hosted
in variety of
turbidite/mass flow units,
these fossils are not in-
situ.
From transported fossils Carbonate clast
biostratigraphic zonation
is misleading
So, ~44 Ma depositional age of Subathu
is not valid
 Subathu sub-Basin
No visible unconformity below White Sandstone
T

Dagshai
White Sandstone
~44 Ma? ~31 Ma

Red Subathu

Lr. Shoreface
Up. Shoreface
 Revised Formation boundary:
Dagshai

Continuous shallowing
~28 Ma (Najman et al., 1997)
Fluvial
(Continental) Detrital muscovite
~31Ma
White Sandstone ~31 Ma (Najman et al., 2004 and Beach
(Marine) Jain et al., 2009) Fission track
dating of detrital zircon
Shallow
Subathu ~44 Ma from Larger benthic marine
(Marine) foraminifers are TRANSPORTED
 Provenance switch-over

Answer to the first question

Himalayan Exhumation/erosion started ~31 Ma
 Summary of Dagshai Kasauli sedimentological and sequence
stratigraphic data (based on >3100 m logged section)
Kasauli Braided River

>30 m thick,
sheet like
channels

Kasauli Humid climate

<10 m thick,
ribbon like
Dagshai Meandering River
small
channels

Dagshai Arid to semi-Arid climate

Change in Rainfall (higher river discharge) due to Climate change?

 Teeth enamel phosphate isotope data
1 cm

Kasauli Rhinoceros tooth

So, for 4-6‰ depletion

there should be an increase
in ~400 mm rainfall!
 Summary:
Question no 1: When Himalayan exhumation Started?
Answer: ~31 Ma

Question no 2: When South Asian monsoon initiated?

Answer: ~31 Ma; Sedimentology, Sequence Stratigraphy, and
Stable Isotope data.

Himalayan exhumation/erosion (Tectonics)

and
Initiation of South Asian Monsoon (Climate)
are linked