Syntaxis of Assam

Tushar Todkar
PUNE UNIVERSITY

1626
1. Definition of Syntaxis
2. Location of A.S.
3. Himalayan mountain belt
4. Tectonic setting of A.S.
5. Structure of A.S.
6. formation of A.S.
1. Definition of Syntax.
(geology) A convergence of mountain
ranges, geological folds, towards a
single point.
 2. Location
Syntaxis of assam
Eastern Himalaya syntaxis
Namchi Barwa Syntaxis (NBS)
3. Himalayan mountain belt

The Himalayan orogeny is one of

the youngest mountain belts on
Earth created by continent
continent collision. The Assam
syntaxis has attracted the attention
of many geologists for its special
tectonic position at the end of the
mountain belt expressed as a large
antiform, the Namche Barwa
antiform.
3. Himalayan mountain belt

Assam syntaxis and a similar

structure at Nanga Parbat in the
western Himalayan syntaxis,
characterize the two syntaxes at
opposite ends of the Himalaya. The
western and eastern terminations
are named the Nanga Parbat
Syntaxis (NPS) and Namche Barwa
Syntaxis (NBS), respectively.
Simplified tectonic maps of the
Himalayan orogenic belt
Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis
NPS: naga prabhat syntaxis
NBS: Namche barwa syntaxis
ATF:Altyn tagn fault IYSZ:Indus
yarlung suture zone HM:himalayan
MBT:main boundry thrust
SGF:sagging fault CMF:chaman fault
THU:Tethys Himalayan unit GHU:great
Himalayan unit LHU:lesser Himalaya
unit SHU:sub Himalaya unit STD:south
Tibetan detachment MCT:main
central thrust MFT:main frontal thrust
DMSZ:dongjiu milin left lateral strike
slip shear zone AMSZ:Aniqiao moutuo
right lateral strike slip dhear zone
LTF:lohit thrust fault TSZ: tiding suture
zone
4. Tectonic Settings
The NBS is separated from the Lhasa terrane (LT) to the
north by the sharply curved IYSZ . The NBS extends
southwestward to join the Great Himalaya crystalline
Unit (GHU). The latter is separated from the Tethyan
Himalaya cover Unit (THU) to the north by the south
Tibetan detachment fault (STD), and from the Lesser
Himalaya nappe unit (LHU) to the south by the Main
Central Thrust (MCT). The IYSZ has been replaced by
the DMSZ (dongjiu milin left lateral strike slip
shear zone) in the west and the AMSZ (Aniqiao
moutuo right lateral strike slip shear zone) in the
east. The AMSZ extends along the NWSE trending
Tidding Suture Zone (TSZ) or the Lohit Thrust Fault
(LTF) and the NNESSW-trending Mytkyian suture
zone, and is then cut off by the NS trending Sagaing
right-lateral Fault Zone (SGF) in Myanmar.
5. Antiformal Structure
The Antiformal structure is cored
by high- grade
metamorphosed rocks, locally
formed at high pressure. Higher
tectonic units wrap around and
dip away from the uplifted core
in an inverted U-shaped pattern
in map view.

The NBS area can be divided into

three tectonic units.
(I) the IYSZ that wraps around the
NBS,
(II) the Namche Barwa HP Complex
(NBC)
(III) the Duoxiong-La Migmatitic
Dome (DMD).
6. Formation of Namche Barwa syntaxis
The eastern Himalayan syntaxis is an antiformal structure that was
developed during Cenozoic India-Asia collision.
Burg and Podladchikov (2000) proposed that the antiform
developed by lithospheric folding.
In contrast, Zeitler et al. (2001) suggested that the antiform was
created by upward movement of a high-grade moble core
involving only crustal rocks.
Ding et al., 2001 suggested that The uplift could have begun after
late Miocene time as a result of duplex development.
The exhumation rate of the antiformal core is 10 mm yr-1 since 4Ma
possibly caused by erosion coeval with crustal- scale folding (Dinget
al.,1995;Burg andPodladchikov 2000).
 Formation of the Namche Barwa Syntaxis (NBS) Xu, Zhiqin et al. 2012

A model for the formation and evolution of the Namche Barwa Syntaxis(NBS)
A. Subduction B. Exhumation
IYSZ : Indus Yarlung Suture Zone
DMSZ : Dongjiu Milin Shear Zone at the western side of the IYSZ
 Formation of the Namche Barwa Syntaxis (NBS) Xu, Zhiqin et al. 2012

Stage a (Subduction): The northward moving East Indian corner collided first with the Lhasa terrane and
subsequently the crustal materials at this corner along the DMSZ (dongjiu milin left lateral strike slip
shear zone) and AMSZ (Aniqiao moutuo right lateral strike slip shear zone) formed initially were
subducted to depths N70 km where they, experienced HP metamorphism at 5440Ma.
Formation of the Namche Barwa Syntaxis (NBS) Xu, Zhiqin et al. 2012

Stage b (Exhumation) : Since 40Ma, large-scale, right-lateral strikeslip along the Sagaing
fault has accommodated the rapid northward movement of the eastern Indian plate
corner with respect to the Indochina block. This caused significant and progressive
bending of the Indus-Yarlung suture zone (IYSZ) such that it became the Dongjiu-Milin
left-lateral, strikeslip, shear zone (DMSZ) in the west and the Aniqiao-Motuo right-
lateral, strikeslip, shear zone (AMSZ) in the east. Both zones underwent strong
mylonitization. Meanwhile, the HP metamorphic rocks were rapidly exhumed, first into
the deep crust at2218 Ma and then to the shallow crust to form an antiformal dome at
62Ma.
Refferences
Bracciali, Laura et al. 2016. Plio-Pleistocene Exhumation of the Eastern
Himalayan Syntaxis. Earth-Science Reviews 160: 35085.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.07.010.
Quanru, Geng et al. 2006. The Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis: Major
Tectonic Domains, Ophiolitic Mlanges and Geologic Evolution.
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 27(3): 26585.
Xu, Wang Chun et al. 2010. Timing of Granulite-Facies Metamorphism
in the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis and Its Tectonic Implications.
Tectonophysics 485(14): 23144.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2009.12.023.
Xu, Zhiqin et al. 2012. Kinematics and Dynamics of the Namche Barwa
Syntaxis, Eastern Himalaya: Constraints from Deformation, Fabrics and
Geochronology. Gondwana Research 21(1): 1936.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2011.06.010.