Figure 5.

Paleomagnetically quantified India-Asia convergence history. (a) Schematic diagram showing the evolution of the proposed North India Sea and of the India-Asia continent collision. (b) India-Asia convergence rates documented by the relative plate motions between India-Africa and India-Antarctica [47], which were evaluated as the most accurate recordings of India's plate motion [52]. The numbers with arrows in (b) roughly correspond to the stages in (a). Our new paleomagnetic results from the CORBs in the Tethyan Himalaya yield a paleolatitude of 19.4° ± 1.8°S at ∼75 Ma, while a paleolatitude of 25.9° ± 2.9°S is obtained by the APWP of India at ∼75 Ma (also see Fig. 4a). Our new paleomagnetic results indicate that the Tethyan Himalaya terrane was situated at a paleolatitude of 13.7° ± 2.5°N at ∼61 Ma, while a paleolatitude of 12.2° ± 2.1°S was inferred from APWP of India at ∼61 Ma for the same reference point (29.3°N, 85.3°E) (also see Fig. 4b).