Characteristics of lower crustal channel flow and geomorphology of the Tibetan Plateau

To study the viscosity coefficient and thickness of the viscous layer on the Tibetan Plateau, the relationship between the change in viscosity coefficient and thickness of a lower crustal flow and the change in elevation has been investigated based on the principle of a pipeline flow with different viscosity and thickness of terrain elevation. The viscosity and thickness of the lower crustal flow in different directions were determined based on the changes in the terrain along different directions on the Tibetan Plateau. The following results were obtained: (1) The greater the viscosity and the smaller the thickness of the lower crustal conduit flow, the steeper the ground elevation change formed; (2) The maximum viscosity coefficient in the region from India to the Kunlun Mountains in the southern Tibetan Plateau through the Himalayan boundary is approximately 1020Pas, and the thickness of the conduit flow is approximately 25 km. (3) The maximum value of the viscosity coefficient of the lower crustal flow in the region ranging from the Tibetan Plateau to the Qinghai- Gansu section is attained when the flow thickness in this region approaches 40 km (4) The maximum value of the viscosity coefficient of the lower crustal flow in the region ranging from the Tibetan Plateau to the Qinghai- Gansu section is attained when the flow thickness in this region approaches 40 km., which does not substantially differ from that of the region ranging from the Tibetan Plateau to the Qinghai-Gansu area. (5) The maximum viscosity coefficient of the lower crustal flow from the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau to Yunnan is approximately 1018Pas, and the thickness is approximately 32 km, which differs from the flow thickness in the Sichuan Basin and Qinghai-Gansu regions. The results show variations in the viscosity of the flow along different directions on the Tibetan Plateau, in addition to considerable variation in the thickness of the lower crustal channel flow from region to region, with the overall characteristics of thinness in the west and thickness in the east. The results of the four profiles reveal that the channel flow thickness is the steepest at the southwest border of the Tibetan Plateau with India. This paper presents a reasonable interpretation of the geomorphology of the Tibetan Plateau using different thickness and viscosity coefficients of the lower crustal channel flow model. In this paper, a possible mechanism for the formation of the Tibetan Plateau topography is explained using a horizontal pipe flow for four profiles of the Tibetan Plateau.