The Himalaya-Tibetan orogen is not only the most elevated topographic feature on Earth (“the roof of the world”) but also a “natural laboratory” for scientific studies of continent-continental collisional processes, both endogenic (tectonic and petrologic) and exogenic (climatic and erosional) phenomena that have also shaped continental highlands in other parts of the world. This proposed 2021 AGU Special Session invites new research studies that shed light on the geodynamics, structure, magmatism, metamorphism, exhumation, and topographic evolution of the Himalaya-Tibetan orogen with a focus on the nature and chronology of processes and inter-comparison models. The dynamic setting of the region, including its active faults, youngest granites, complete exposures of metamorphic assemblages and deepest gorges, offer both challenges and opportunities for region-calibrated interdisciplinary research. These studies also promote inclusive scientific culture and provides a geoscience knowledge-base for sustainable development of the region.

• EGU: European Geosciences Union -
• GSA: Geological Society of America -