TIBETOP Project
Explanations of the Project TIBETOP
The TIBETOP project aims to reconstruct the past topographic evolution of the world’s highest Himalaya Mountains and Tibetan plateau that represent a natural laboratory to obtain models linking topography, geodynamic processes, drainages, biodiversity, and climate.
Different topographic growth scenarios have been proposed for the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen, and a fierce debate currently exists among several international groups.
This project proposes to unlock these limitations by applying new game-changing paleoaltitude proxies to new priority targets from the Eocene to the Miocene near-surface record and deeper crustal high-grade metamorphic rocks exhumed along high-strain zones.
This will also provide new insights on crustal-scale transport of fluids and exhumation processes.
- Project start Date :15/01/2025
- Project completion Date : 31/07/2028
- Project duration : 42 months
- Budget : 557 290 €
- Project leader : Aude GÉBELIN
- Research team : GEM
- Link to the ANR project
- GeoRessources’ contact : Aude GÉBELIN
- Dupont-Nivet, G., Moreau, K., Feng, Z., Gébelin, A., Rivera, L., Lavé, J., Grujic, D., Licht, A., Fidalgo, J.-C. (2025). TIBETOP : des paléoaltitudes aux modèles géodynamiques. 29ème RST (Earth Sciences), Montpellier, France.
- Fidalgo, J.-C., Gébelin A., Grujic, D., France-Lanord, C., Dupont-Nivet, G., Ruffet, G., Alexandre, A. (2025). Stable isotope paleoaltimetry of the Bhutan region. 37th Himalaya-Karakoram-Tibet (HKT) Workshop, Torino (Italy). https://www.socgeol.it/N6724/37th-himalaya-karakoram-tibet-workshop.html
- Gébelin A., Law R.D., Webster T.J., Stahr III D.W., Mulch A., Teyssier C., Mauguin O. (2025). Fluid-rock-deformation interactions in the fossil Zanskar detachment footwall (NW India) as a proxy of tectonic regime and past topography. 37th Himalaya-Karakoram-Tibet (HKT) Workshop, Torino (Italy). https://www.socgeol.it/N6724/37th-himalaya-karakoram-tibet-workshop.html. Keynote.
- Fidalgo, J.-C., Gébelin, A., France-Lanord, C., Dupont-Nivet, G., Ruffet, G., Alexandre, A., Au Yang, D. (2025). La paléotopographie Miocène de la region du Bhoutan. 29ème RST (Earth Sciences), Montpellier, France.
- Moreau, K., Dupont-Nivet, G., Feng, Z., Rivera, L., Fang, X., Licht, A., Alexandre, A., Lavé, J., Mercadier, J., Grujic, D., Gébelin, A. (2025). Unraveling Central Tibet’s Sedimentary History: new Insights from the TIBETOP project. 29ème RST (Earth Sciences), Montpellier, France.
- Rivera, L., Gébelin, A., Dupont-Nivet, G., Grujic, D., Feng, Z., Moreau, K., Lavé, J., Licht, A., Fidalgo, J.-C. (2025). The topographic evolution of the Southern Tibetan Plateau. 29ème RST (Earth Sciences), Montpellier, France.
- Dupont-Nivet, G., Fidalgo, J.-C., Moreau, K., Rivera, L., Feng, Z., Xiaomin, F., Gébelin, A., Lavé, J., Licht, A. (2025). Tibetan Plateau paleogeographic reconstructions during the India-Asia collision: from paleoelevation proxies to geodynamic models, EGU 2025, Vienna, Abstract with Programs, Session ITS1.14/TS8.2.
Looking back at the first expedition to Tibet: key moments
Research partners
Several partners work on this research project with GeoRessources :
