Quantifying Himalayan Erosion Fluxes from the Bengal fan record

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Volkhard Spieß
• Subject Area: Palaeontology ; Geophysics
• Term: since 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 390986125

The Himalaya is one region of the world where tectonic and climate interact dramatically. Since the India-Asia collision, the exhumation of the Himalayas has interacted with the Asian monsoon to generate one of the most intense erosion fluxes on Earth. If tectonic clearly forces the monsoon, it acts in turn on the mountain chain structure by controlling the intensity and distribution of erosion. Himalayan erosion finally contributes to the global reduction in atmospheric CO2 pressure responsible for the Oligocene glaciation. However, the direct sedimentary records of these processes during the Neogene are essentially unexplored or limited and inadequate for quantitative approaches. This project builds on IODP Expedition 354 which cored at transect at 8°N in the Bengal Fan. Through a multidisciplinary approach combining synthesis of seismic stratigraphy and architecture of the Bengal Fan, geochronology and geochemistry, this project is designed to quantify Himalayan erosion fluxes during Neogene and Quaternary.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Christian France-Lanord
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Tilmann Schwenk