Detrital chrome spinel evidence for a Neotethyan intra-oceanic island arc collision with India in the Paleocene

Abstract

Models that support a single collision scenario for India and Eurasia are incompatible with the evidence that an intra-oceanic island arc (IOIA) existed within the Neotethyan Ocean. Understanding the spatial and temporal extent of any IOIA is crucial for India-Eurasia collision studies as the entire ocean, including any intra-oceanic features, must have been consumed or emplaced prior to continental collision. Here, we review what is known about the Neotethyan IOIA and report evidence from sedimentary successions in NW India and southern Tibet to constrain when and where it was emplaced. We use detrital mineral geochemistry and supporting provenance and age data to identify the source of the sediments and compare the timing of erosion of IOIA-derived material in both regions.