9218600 Klemperer The Tibetan Plateau is the most prominent continental feature on our planet and probably one of the most controversial. The controversy stems from the combination of inherent complexity and lack of data. Knowledge of the crustal structure and lithology of the plateau is essential to addressing the questions involved - questions that are central for the understanding of some of the most fundamental processes shaping the continental lithosphere. Following a decade of political efforts, the COCORP group managed to establish collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources (MGMR) to collect seismic reflection data across the Himalaya/Tibetan plateau. As the initial test phase of project INDEPTH (International Deep Profiling of Tibet and the Himalaya), a 100-km long profile has been collected in southern Tibet during the summer season of 1992. The Crustal Geophysics group of Stanford University was invited to conduct a "piggy-back" experiment. The group took a multi-disciplinary approach, and acquired wide-angle reflection, cross-lines, gravity, magnetic and remote-sensing data. Their purpose was to provide the lithological controls so important in resolving between the wealth of existing models, and to record auxiliary data needed for the complete interpretation of the main COCORP profile. This project involves the analysis and interpretation of this unique data set and will be undertaken in close collaboration with both the COCORP group and the Chinese MGMR scientists under project INDEPTH. ***
