Enhanced aridity in the interior of Asia after the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum driven by global cooling

IF 4 1区地球科学 Q1 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Global and Planetary Change Pub Date : 2024-12-30 DOI:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2024.104691

Jimin Sun, Weiguo Liu, Brian F. Windley, Longxiao Xu, Tongyan Lü

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The Junggar Basin, located in mid-latitude Central Asia, is an inland basin that is one of the remotest area from any open seas on Earth. Knowledge about the paleoclimatic change and the relevant driving factors in this specific geographical region is critically important for understanding the Cenozoic aridification processes in the Asian hinterland. In this study, we focused on Miocene strata in the northwestern Junggar Basin, which consist of middle Miocene fluviolacustrine sediments and a late Miocene aeolian/reworked red clay. Our data of the paleoclimatic indices of color index, magnetic susceptibility and stable isotopes indicate a middle Miocene warm humid climate between 17.5 and 14 Ma, and a subsequent shift to an arid climate after 14 Ma. This paleoclimatic shift was synchronous with a biotic turnover marked by a transition from a high degree of mammal diversity dominated by large-sized mammals living in a humid forest grassland during the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum to a late Miocene small-sized mammal-dominant fauna living in dry open steppe. The above correlations imply an intrinsic link between environmental change and biotic evolution. We suggest that a decrease in sea surface temperature and the westward retreat of Paratethys induced by global cooling were the key factors responsible for the enhanced aridity of the Asian inland after 14 Ma, which controlled the reduced water vapor transported by the Westerlies to the interior of Asia.

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来源期刊

Global and Planetary Change 地学天文-地球科学综合

CiteScore

7.40

自引率

10.30%

发文量

226

审稿时长

63 days

期刊介绍： The objective of the journal Global and Planetary Change is to provide a multi-disciplinary overview of the processes taking place in the Earth System and involved in planetary change over time. The journal focuses on records of the past and current state of the earth system, and future scenarios , and their link to global environmental change. Regional or process-oriented studies are welcome if they discuss global implications. Topics include, but are not limited to, changes in the dynamics and composition of the atmosphere, oceans and cryosphere, as well as climate change, sea level variation, observations/modelling of Earth processes from deep to (near-)surface and their coupling, global ecology, biogeography and the resilience/thresholds in ecosystems. Key criteria for the consideration of manuscripts are (a) the relevance for the global scientific community and/or (b) the wider implications for global scale problems, preferably combined with (c) having a significance beyond a single discipline. A clear focus on key processes associated with planetary scale change is strongly encouraged. Manuscripts can be submitted as either research contributions or as a review article. Every effort should be made towards the presentation of research outcomes in an understandable way for a broad readership.