A mid-crustal strain-transfer model for continental deformation: A new perspective from high-resolution deep seismic-reflection profiling across NE Tibet

Understanding why continental deformation departs from the theory of plate tectonics requires a detailed knowledge of three-dimensional structures at a lithospheric scale. In Tibet, the end-member models of continental deformation make distinctively different predictions on strain distribution and contrasting structural geometry as a function of depth. Specifically, the thin-viscous-sheet model predicts vertically coherent deformation while...