Erosion, Himalayan Geodynamics, and the Geomorphology of Metamorphism

Abstract

Is erosion important to the structural and petrological evolution of mountain belts?The nature of active metamorphic massifs colocated with deep gorges in the syntaxes at each end of the Himalayan range, together with the magnitude of erosional fluxes that occur in these regions, leads us to concur with suggestions that erosion plays an integral role in collisional dynamics.At multiple scales, erosion exerts an influence on a par with such fundamental phenomena as crustal thickening and extensional collapse.Erosion can mediate the development and distribution of both deformation and metamorphic facies, accommodate crustal convergence, and locally instigate high-grade metamorphism and melting.