Geochemical evidence for thin syn-collision crust and major crustal thickening between 45 and 32 Ma at the southern margin of Tibet

Geochemical data on widely distributed igneous rocks of southern Tibet are used to reconstruct paleo-crustal thickness during the 50+ million years that have elapsed since the onset of the India-Asia collision. We use two approaches, one based on Nd isotopes and an assimilation-recharge model for granitic magma genesis and another empirical method based on trace element geochemistry (La/Yb). The focus is on granitic rocks of two age ranges in a...