Decoupled Lithospheric Folding, Lower Crustal Flow Channels, and the Growth of Tibetan Plateau

The growth mechanism of the Tibetan Plateau, postulated by a number of hypotheses, remains under intense debate. Our analysis of recent satellite-based gravity model reveals that Tibetan lithosphere has been decoupled and folded. It is further evidenced by the existence of crustal melts and channel flow that have been observed by seismic and magnetotelluric explorations. Based on 3D geodynamic simulations, we elucidate the exact buckling structures in the upper crust and lithospheric mantle: at mixed wavelengths between ∼240 and ∼400 km, the lower crustal viscosity is smaller than ∼10 19 Pa·s, implicating weak lower crustal flow beneath the Plateau. This mixed wavelength is consistent with the result of our inverse gravity modeling. Our results facilitate a new plausible hypothesis that the decoupled lithospheric folding mechanism can explain the growth mechanism of the anomalously thick and wide Tibetan Plateau by conflating our idea and contemporary hypothesized scientific findings.