Analyses of vertical thermochronologic profiles in the High Crystalline Himalaya with allowance for advection of heat: Interactions among exhumation, climate, and tectonics

I examined the possibility that rock now exposed at the earth's surface in the High Himalaya cooled as it was exhumed at a constant rate. To do so, I analyzed thermochronological data from vertical profiles in crystalline rock of the High Himalaya using a 1D formulation and allowing for advection of heat. Analyses of 19 published vertical transects suggest changes in exhumation rate around 8 to 13 Ma and around 2 to 4 Ma. A change in exhumation rate around 8 to 13 Ma was found in eight profiles and might be related to a decrease in convergence rate between the Indian and Eurasian plates. The Pliocene change in exhumation rate was found in nine transects and could be related to climatic variations or to local tectonic activity. Only two profiles can be explained with a constant exhumation rate for the last 20 Ma.