Dr. Yani Najman

E-mail y.najman@lancaster.ac.uk Telephone +44 (0)1524 593898 Facsimile +44 (0)1524 593985 Room B512

Research summary :

  My research investigates the inter-relationship between tectonics, erosion, and sedimentation, in orogenic settings. The primary aim is to utilise the detrital record to investigate mountain-building processes. My current focus lies in the Himalayas and Tibet - I have projects in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Tibet, Myanmar and the Andaman Islands. I use sediments eroded from the mountain belt and preserved in the foreland basin, suture zone, remnant ocean basins and deep sea fans to place constraints on kinematic models of orogenesis; better understand the tectonic influence on basin development; and determine Himalayan evolution in order to constrain its proposed effect on climate change and ocean geochemistry.

  My research in a study area involves establishment of a 'basin framework', its stratigraphy, structure and tectonic evolution, palaeogeography and facies, combined with analyses of the sediments and individual detrital minerals using a number of petrographic, isotopic and geochemical techniques, to determine provenance. This approach has enabled me to use the sedimentary record to constrain Himalayan exhumation patterns, early metamorphic and tectonic events in the orogen, and orogenic influence on the marine Sr record.

My research uses:

• A variety of field techniques including sedimentary logging and facies analysis.
• A number of isotopic systems: Sr, Sm-Nd, U-Pb, Ar/Ar and fission-track, with specialism in detrital single grain methodologies.
• Various geochemical techniques including XRF, illite crystallinity and electron microprobe analyses.

Principal Supervisor to PhD students :

• Nicola White (Cambridge University), 1997-2001. "Early Miocene exhumation history of the NW Indian Himalaya".
• Adam Szulc (Edinburgh University), 2001-2005. "Tectonic evolution of the Himalayas constrained by a detrital investigation of the Siwalik Group Molasse, SW Nepal".
• Ruth Allen (Lancaster University), 2004-present. "Accretionary prism sediments of Myanmar, Bangladesh and the Andaman Islands - evidence of early Himalayan erosion?".
• Alex Henderson (Lancaster University), from July 2006. "India-Asia collision and Himalayan evolution: constraints from the sediment record, Indus Molasse, Ladakh Himalaya".

Education and appointments and awards :

• 2003-present: Lectureship, Lancaster University.
• 2000-2003: Royal Society of Edinburgh / BP Fellowship, University of Edinburgh.
• 1999-2000: Royal Society International Fellowship,University of Calgary, Canada.
• 1995-1999: Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship : Cambridge University, (in collaboration with Edinburgh)
• 1990-1995: PhD, Edinburgh University.
• 1986-1990: BSc, Geology, Edinburgh University.

• 2003: European Union of Geosciences Outstanding Young Scientist.
• 1998: "Britain's Young Achievers".

Interests :

Long distance cycle touring and telemark ski touring, mountain biking, hill walking, independent & expedition travel.

Papers :

1. Najman, Y., Bickle, M., Garzanti, E., Pringle, M., Barfod, D., Brozovic, N., Burbank, D. and Ando, S. 2008. Reconstructing the exhumation history of the Lesser Himalaya, NW India, from a multitechnique provenance study of the foreland basin Siwalik Group.
   Tectonics 28, TC5018, doi:10.1029/2009TC002506.
   
   Available as Adobe .pdf file
   
   
2. Allen, R., Najman, Y., Carter, A., Barfod, D, Bickle, M., Chapman, H., Garzanti, E., Ando, S., Vezzoli, G., and Parrish, R. 2008. Provenance of the Tertiary sedimentary rocks of the Indo- Burman Ranges, Burma (Myanmar): Burman arc or Himalayan-derived?
   Journal of the Geological Society, London 165, 1045-1057.
   
   Available as Adobe .pdf file
   
   
3. Najman, Y., Bickle, M, Boudagher-Fadel, M., Carter, A., Garzanti, E., Paul, M., Wijbrans, J., Willett, E., Oliver, G., Parrish, R., Akhter, H., Allen, R., Ando, S., Chisty, E., Reisberg, L., and Vezzoli, G. 2008. The “missing” record of Himalayan erosion, Bengal Basin, Bangladesh.
   Earth and Planetary Science Letters 273, 1-14.
   
   Available as Adobe .pdf file
   
   
4. Najman, Y. "Comment on 'Biochronological continuity of the Paleogene sediments of the Himalayan foreland basin: paleontological and other evidences' by S. B. Bhatia and O.N. Bhargava".
   Journal of Asian Earth Sciences.
   
   Available as Adobe .pdf file
   
   
5. R. Allen, A. Carter, Y. Najman, P.C. Bandopadhyay, H.J. Chapman, M.J. Bickle, E. Garzanti, G. Vezzoli S. Ando, G.L. Foster and C. Gerring. New Constraints on the sedimentation and uplift history of the Andaman-Nicobar accretionary prism, South Andaman Island.
   Geological Society of America Special Publication.
   
   Proof version only currently available as Adobe .pdf file
   
   
6. Szulc, A., Najman, Y., Sinclair, H., Bickle, M., Chapman, H., Garzanti, E., Ando, S., Huyghe, P., Mugnier, J-L., Ojha, T. and DeCelles, P. 2006. Tectonic Evolution of the Himalaya constrained by detrital Ar-Ar, Sm-Nd and petrographic data from the Siwalik foreland basin succession, SW Nepal.
   Basin Research 18, 375-391.
   
   Available as Adobe .pdf file
   
   
7. Najman, Y. 2006, vol 74, pages 1-72. The sediment record of orogenesis: a review of approaches and techniques used in the Himalaya.
   Earth Science Reviews.
   
   Available as Adobe .pdf file
   
   
8. Najman, Y., Carter, A., Oliver, G. & Garzanti, E. 2005. Provenance of Eocene foreland basin sediments, Nepal: constraints to the timing and diachroneity of early Himalayan orogenesis.
   Geology, vol no 33, pages 309-312.
   
   Available as Adobe .pdf file
   
   
9. DeCelles. P., Gehrels, G., Najman, Y., Martin, A., & Garzanti, E. 2004. Detrital geochronology, thermochronology and geochemistry of Cretaceous-Miocene strata of Nepal: implications for timing and diachroneity of initial Himalayan orogenesis.
   Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol 227, pg 313-330.
   
   Available as Adobe .pdf file
   
   
10. Najman, Y., Johnson, C.,White, N.M. & Oliver, G. 2004. Evolution of the Himalayan foreland basin, NW India.
    Basin Research 16, 1-24.
    
    Published, but only proof version currently available as Adobe .pdf file
    
    
11. HUNT, J & NAJMAN, Y. 2003. The tephrochronological potential of the Plio-Pleistocene volcaniclastic record in the Japan Trench. In: Suyehiro, K, Sacks, I.S., Acton, G, D., and Oda, M. (Eds.).
    Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program Scientific Results 186 [online]. Available from http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/186_SR/107/107.htm.
    
    
12. Najman, Y., Garzanti, E., Pringle, M., Bickle, M., Stix, J. & Khan, I. 2003. Early-Mid Miocene palaeodrainage and tectonics in the Pakistan Himalaya.
    Geological Society of America Bulletin 115, 1265-1277.
    
    Available as Adobe .pdf file
    
    
13. CLIFT, P.D., NAJMAN, Y.M.R., SHIMIZU, N., LAYNE, G.D. & HUNT, J. 2003. Temporal evolution of boron flux in the Honshu and Izu arcs, measured by ion microprobe from the forearc tephra record.
    Journal of Petrology44, 1211-1236.
    
    
14. Najman, Y., Pringle, M., Godin. L & Oliver. G., 2002. A reinterpretation of the Balakot Formation; implications for the tectonic evolution of the NW Himalaya, Pakistan.
    Tectonics 21, 1045, doi 10.1029/2001TC001337.
    
    Available as Adobe .pdf file
    
    
15. WHITE, N.M., PRINGLE, M., GARZANTI, E., BICKLE, M., NAJMAN, Y. & CHAPMAN, H., 2002. Constraints on the exhumation and erosion of the High Himalayan Slab, NW India, from foreland basin deposits.
    Earth and Planetary Science Letters 195, 29-44.
    
    Available as Adobe .pdf file
    
    
16. NAJMAN, Y., PRINGLE, M., GODIN. L & OLIVER. G., 2001. New dating of the oldest Himalayan continental foreland basin sediments forces reconsideration of current models of India-Eurasia collision.
    Nature 410, 194-197.
    
    Available as Adobe .pdf file
    
    
17. WHITE, N.M., PARRISH, R., BICKLE, M., NAJMAN, Y., BURBANK, D. & MAITHANI, A., 2001. Metamorphism and exhumation of the NW Himalaya constrained by U-Th-Pb analyses of detrital monazite grains from early foreland basin sediments.
    Journal of the Geological Society of London 158, 625-635.
    
    Available as Adobe .pdf file
    
    
18. NAJMAN, Y. AND GARZANTI, E., 2000. An integrated approach to provenance studies: reconstructing early Himalayan paleogeography and tectonic evolution from Tertiary foredeep sediments, N. India.
    Geological Society of America Bulletin 112, 435-449.
    
    Available as Adobe .pdf file
    
    
19. NAJMAN, Y., BICKLE, M. AND CHAPMAN, H., 2000. Early Himalayan exhumation: isotopic constraints from the Indian foreland basin.
    Terra Nova 12, 28-34.
    
    Available as Adobe .pdf file
    
    
20. SACKS, I.S., SUYEHIRO, K. ACTON, G.D. AND THE SHIPBOARD SCIENTIFIC PARTY ( INCLUDING NAJMAN, Y. ), 2000. West Pacific Geophysical Observatories.
    Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Initial Reports volume 186.
    
    
21. NAJMAN, Y.M.R., PRINGLE, M.S., JOHNSON, M.R.W., ROBERTSON, A.H.F. AND WIJBRANS, J.R., 1997. Laser 40Ar/39Ar dating of single detrital muscovite grains from early foreland basin sediments in India: Implications for early Himalayan evolution.
    Geology 25, 535-538.
    
    Available as Adobe .pdf file
    
    
22. NAJMAN, Y.M.R., ENKIN, R.J., JOHNSON, M.R.W., ROBERTSON, A.H.F. AND BAKER, J., 1994. Palaeomagnetic dating of the earliest continental Himalayan foredeep sediments: Implications for Himalayan evolution.
    Earth and Planetary Science Letters 128, 713-718. (Also published as full-text in the Earth & Planetary Science Express newspaper, page 4, 22nd December 1994).
    
    
23. NAJMAN, Y., CLIFT, P., JOHNSON, M.R.W. AND ROBERTSON, A.H.F., 1993. Early stages of foreland basin evolution in the Lesser Himalaya, N. India. In: Treloar, P.J. and Searle, M.P. (eds.)
    Himalayan Tectonics. Geological Society of London Special Publication 74, 541-558.