The geodynamic evolution of the Tibetan Plateau remains highly debated. Any model of its evolution must explain the plateau’s growth as constrained by palaeo-altitude studies, the spatio-temporal distribution of magmatic activity, and the lithospheric mantle removal inferred from seismic velocity anomalies in the underlying mantle. Several conflicting models have been proposed, but none of these explains the first-order topographic, magmatic and seismic features self-consistently. Here we propose and test numerically an evolutionary model of the plateau that involves gradual peeling of the lithospheric mantle from the overriding plate and consequent mantle and crustal melting and uplift. We show that this model successfully reproduces the successive surface uplift of the plateau to more than 4 km above sea level and is consistent with the observed migration of magmatism and geometry of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary resulting from subduction of the Indian plate and delamination of the mantle lithosphere of the Eurasian plate. These comparisons indicate that mantle delamination from the overriding plate is the driving force behind the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and, potentially, orogenic plateaus more generally.

青藏高原的地球动力学演化仍然备受争议。任何其演化模型都必须解释高原的生长受到古海拔研究、岩浆活动的时空分布以及根据底层地幔地震速度异常推断的岩石圈地幔去除的限制。人们提出了几种相互矛盾的模型，但这些模型都不能自洽地解释一级地形、岩浆和地震特征。在这里，我们提出并测试了一个高原演化模型，该模型涉及岩石圈地幔从上覆板块逐渐剥离以及随之而来的地幔和地壳熔化和隆起。我们表明，该模型成功地再现了高原地表连续隆起至海拔4公里以上的过程，并且与观测到的岩浆活动的迁移以及印度板块俯冲和印度板块分层导致的岩石圈-软流圈边界的几何形状一致。欧亚板块地幔岩石圈。这些比较表明，地幔从上覆板块的分层是青藏高原以及更广泛的造山高原隆起背后的驱动力。