Research Advances in Erosion,Rheology of the Lower Crust and Orogeny

As one of the up-to-date frontiers of earth science, The research on lithosphere rheology has become an essential field in solid-earth research.Recent progresses show that the widely distributed ductile flow in the lower crust is one of the most important constraints in orogeny.Being controlled by the rheology of the lower crust,erosion may level off the topography,and can break the balance of kinetics and thermodynamics inside of the crust therefore rebuild the structure and component of the curst.the uplift process of the mountains is then enhanced;we believe that the rate of the exhumation is controlled by both the uplift of orogen and the outer spheres of the earth(atmosphere,hydrosphere).In this paper,as typical examples,the rapid uplift of the Tien-Shan and the Himalayas,the metamorphism and tectonics of the Himalayas.was discussed,our conclusion is that although traditional orogeny has a close relationship with tectonics,erosion can effectively control the ductile flow in the lower crust during the development of a mountain in a small time and space scale,and the coupling mechanism between erosion and ductile flow in the lower crust is crucial for crust uplift and tectonic evolution of great mountain ranges.The research on lithosphere rheology and deformation and metamorphism is an important cut-in point of earth system science.