A study on the docking of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate through Numerical Modelling

The collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate has led to the building of the Himalayas, the highest mountain range and one of the most seismically active regions in the world. The supercontinent Pangea began to break at around 200Ma, and the Indian plate moved northwards toward the Eurasian plate at 9-16cm/year. At around 50Ma, the velocity of the Indian plate slowed down to about 4-6cm/year. This slowdown is the beginning of the collision between the plates, the Tethys Ocean's closing, and the uplifting of the Himalayas. The Indian plate is still moving with a velocity of nearly 5cm/year, causing a rise in the height of the Himalayas at approximately 4-10mm/year, which is the cause of the extensive seismicity in the nearby region. There has been extensive research on tectonics and seismicity in the Himalayas; however, it is one of the most geologically complex regions, and much of it is still unfathomable and thus requires insight through further studies. This study attempts to find the variation in the physical properties at the subduction zone due to the variation in the collision velocities of the plates. In this study, we have used a numerical simulation of the collision and subduction using finite difference modelling in MATLAB. We have compared physical parameters such as pressure, stress, strain, and temperature for the profiles at different velocities of the colliding blocks at the subduction zone. This geodynamic study focuses on enhancing the understanding of the tectonics and collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates and the formation of the Himalayas.