A Late Miocene Terrestrial Temperature History for the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau's Period of Tectonic Expansion
Abstract During the Late Miocene, the climate patterns and ecosystems of continental land masses experienced crucial transitions, but whether the principal driver was regional tectonic forcing or a decline in CO2 concentrations remains debated. Here we present a terrestrial paleotemperature record s...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082805 |
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| author | Chihao Chen Yan Bai Xiaomin Fang Haichao Guo Qingquan Meng Weilin Zhang Pengchao Zhou Azamdzhon Murodov |
| author_facet | Chihao Chen Yan Bai Xiaomin Fang Haichao Guo Qingquan Meng Weilin Zhang Pengchao Zhou Azamdzhon Murodov |
| author_sort | Chihao Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract During the Late Miocene, the climate patterns and ecosystems of continental land masses experienced crucial transitions, but whether the principal driver was regional tectonic forcing or a decline in CO2 concentrations remains debated. Here we present a terrestrial paleotemperature record spanning ~12.7–5.2 Ma based on tetraether lipids extracted from the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Our results reveal a sharp cooling (~8 °C) during ~10.5–8 Ma, asynchronous with minor fluctuations in global sea temperatures, suggesting a rapid tectonic uplift of ~1 km in extent. This event appears consistent with the simultaneous aridification and transitions of ecosystems experienced in adjacent regions. Moreover, the amplitude of the cooling over land is less than that which occurred over the ocean during the CO2‐dominated Late Miocene cooling event (~7–5.4 Ma). We therefore concluded that tectonic forcing, rather than a decline in CO2 levels, most likely dominated continental climate patterns and ecosystem transitions during the Late Miocene. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-01b76cb32ea641cf88aac8d5ffb20d64 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-01b76cb32ea641cf88aac8d5ffb20d642025-08-20T02:09:04ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072019-07-0146148375838610.1029/2019GL082805A Late Miocene Terrestrial Temperature History for the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau's Period of Tectonic ExpansionChihao Chen0Yan Bai1Xiaomin Fang2Haichao Guo3Qingquan Meng4Weilin Zhang5Pengchao Zhou6Azamdzhon Murodov7CAS Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Beijing ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Beijing ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Beijing ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Beijing ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences and Key Laboratory of Western China's Mineral Resources of Gansu Province Lanzhou University Lanzhou ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Beijing ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Beijing ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Beijing ChinaAbstract During the Late Miocene, the climate patterns and ecosystems of continental land masses experienced crucial transitions, but whether the principal driver was regional tectonic forcing or a decline in CO2 concentrations remains debated. Here we present a terrestrial paleotemperature record spanning ~12.7–5.2 Ma based on tetraether lipids extracted from the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Our results reveal a sharp cooling (~8 °C) during ~10.5–8 Ma, asynchronous with minor fluctuations in global sea temperatures, suggesting a rapid tectonic uplift of ~1 km in extent. This event appears consistent with the simultaneous aridification and transitions of ecosystems experienced in adjacent regions. Moreover, the amplitude of the cooling over land is less than that which occurred over the ocean during the CO2‐dominated Late Miocene cooling event (~7–5.4 Ma). We therefore concluded that tectonic forcing, rather than a decline in CO2 levels, most likely dominated continental climate patterns and ecosystem transitions during the Late Miocene.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082805paleotemperaturepaleoaltitudeclimate driversGDGTsTibetan PlateauLate Miocene |
| spellingShingle | Chihao Chen Yan Bai Xiaomin Fang Haichao Guo Qingquan Meng Weilin Zhang Pengchao Zhou Azamdzhon Murodov A Late Miocene Terrestrial Temperature History for the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau's Period of Tectonic Expansion Geophysical Research Letters paleotemperature paleoaltitude climate drivers GDGTs Tibetan Plateau Late Miocene |
| title | A Late Miocene Terrestrial Temperature History for the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau's Period of Tectonic Expansion |
| title_full | A Late Miocene Terrestrial Temperature History for the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau's Period of Tectonic Expansion |
| title_fullStr | A Late Miocene Terrestrial Temperature History for the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau's Period of Tectonic Expansion |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Late Miocene Terrestrial Temperature History for the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau's Period of Tectonic Expansion |
| title_short | A Late Miocene Terrestrial Temperature History for the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau's Period of Tectonic Expansion |
| title_sort | late miocene terrestrial temperature history for the northeastern tibetan plateau s period of tectonic expansion |
| topic | paleotemperature paleoaltitude climate drivers GDGTs Tibetan Plateau Late Miocene |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082805 |
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