| Session Details | |
| Section | SE - Solid Earth Sciences |
| Session Title | Climate-tectonics Interactions in Orogenic Belts |
| Main Convener | Dr. Subimal Sinha-Roy (Birla Institute of Scientific Research, India) |
| Co-convener(s) | Dr. Pradeep Srivastava (Wadia Institute of Himalayan Greology, India) |
| Session Description | Orogenic belts mark crustal deformation zones such as plate boundaries and plate-collision terrains. The uplift of these belts is controlled essentially by endogenc geodynamic processes but the orography, particularly of the Cenozoic mountain belts such as the Himalaya, establishes a precipitation pattern that in turn controls the location and intensity of erosion. Many studies have advocated climate-forcing of tectonics and suggested erosion-dictated crustal exhumation in and growth of mountain belts. The climate-tectonics interactions are, however, quite complex. Although there is some agreement on the relations between climate and tectonics, several questions are yet to be resolved. Some of these questions relate to : (1) the nature of temporal and spatial variability of climate required to establish a coupled tectonic-climate system, (2) the relations between surface processes, landscape evolution and crustal deformation in balancing the tectonic and erosional fluxes, (3) the timing and rate of erosion-controlled exhumation, (4) the relation between strain localization, crustal flow dynamics and focused erosion in river valleys and hill-fronts, and (5) foreland basin evolution in response to climate-tectonic interaction in orogenic wedges. The session will discuss some of these issues and formulate guide-lines for future reseach. |