Uplift of Tibetan Plateau

A history of the elevation and crustal thickness of the Tibetan Plateau since the continental collision at 45 Ma has been computed using a kinematic model based on plate tectonic reconstructions and conservation of crustal volume. In our reconstructions, the Indochina block was attached to the southern margin of Eurasia before being "extruded" to the southeast as evidenced by the opening of the South China Sea. This opening affected the mass input into Tibet so that Tibet did not uplift to an elevation higher than 1 km until early Miocene (when spreading of the South China Sea ceased). The model then gives a steady rise of Tibet from Middle Miocene to its present elevation.