The PI is a prominent geologist at MIT who has spent more than 25 years studying and mapping the Eastern Tibetan Plateau. Much of this work has been funded by the Continental Dynamics Program. The results of this body of work form the basis of a book about to be published, ?Tectonics of the SE and E Tibetan Plateau and Its Foreland?. It is the first such summary of the geology of this region with a major new synthesis for its evolution. This work will serve as a basic framework for tectonic research in this part of China as well as SE Asia in general.
This award will provide support to complete the plates for the maps that are an essential component of the book. The plates are unique in that they are a digital and layered presentation in two basic formats that can be fully manipulated by the reader. Such a presentation may represent impetus for other Earth scientists to publish maps in this format, which may represent the future style for publication of geological materials.
Digital layered maps of 1.5 million square miles of Southeastern Tibet and its adjacent foreland have been created in both an Illustrator and GIS formats. These maps are on CD's that accompany a Geological Society of America Memoir, entitled "Tectonics of the Southeasrtern Tibetan Plateau and its Adjacent Foreland" to be published jointly this year by the Geological Society of America and the Chengdu Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Sichuan China. The large-scale maps are possibly unique for this type of publication as they can be fully manipulated by the reader. They can be changed as new data comes out, all lines and colors can be changed, sections of the maps can be detailed, and layers can be hidden so that only layers of interest to the reader can be highlighted for specific interpretations. Such maps will be useful to readers so that portions can be used in publications by others where new geology can be added so the maps are up to date. Parts can be easily abstracted and changed for new publications. Such maps can be used for other Earth Science disciplines, such as Geophysics, Environmental Science,Societal Planning, and mineral exploration or even other fields of science.
