International Research Workshop: Deep Intracontinental Subduction in the Pamir

University Of Wyoming, Laramie WY

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides funding for a workshop on the dynamics of intracontinental subduction in the Alai Valley-Pamir region of central Asia. A variey of different processes at depth are all called ?intracontinental subduction? in the literature. In the most commonly discussed form, continental lithosphere follows oceanic lithosphere into a subduction zone, and during continued convergence, slices of the continental crust are stacked one atop the others, as has occurred within the Alps or Himalaya. The PIs are particularly interested in a different and unconventional possibility, where continental lithosphere forms the entirety of a subducting slab that penetrates the asthenosphere, and hence challenges conventional understanding of subduction initiation and the importance of slab pull to tectonic dynamics. They are proposing a project which will test hypotheses related to this last case, focusing on the Pamir as a natural laboratory for examining these processes. The Alai Valley-Pamir system is one of the best locations on Earth to investigate deep intracontinental subduction. The diverse implications of the hypotheses to be tested necessitate a multidisciplinary effort to measure both the current deep structure and time evolution of deformation in and surrounding the Pamir. The design of such an experiment requires a concentrated, multidisciplinary effort, best accomplished by bringing scientists from several countries and several disciplines together. Holding a workshop is an essential step towards developing a coherent project that is properly integrated and leverages the efforts of others. Participants in the workshop will include geologists and geophysicists from the USA and partner countries (Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Germany and Canada). The outcomes of the workshop will be: 1) a plan regarding how to coordinate various scientific efforts and how to ultimately integrate the various preliminary results so to better test the hypotheses; and 2) a plan for sharing resources such as instruments and personnel in order to make the project as efficient and as successful as possible.