Loess‐Like Dust Appearance at 40 Ma in Central China

Meijer, Niels; Dupont‐Nivet, Guillaume; Barbolini, Natasha; Woutersen, Amber; Rohrmann, Alexander; Zhang, Yang; Liu, Xiang-Jun; Licht, Alexis; Abels, Hemmo A.; Hoorn, Carina; Tjallingii, Rik; Andermann, Christoff; Dietze, Michael; Nowaczyk, Norbert

doi:10.1029/2020pa003993

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 126 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…To shed light on the hydroclimatic transition from relatively wet to dry climate at ∼47.6 Ma in the Linxia Basin, three main forcing mechanisms, namely, the eustatic cycle of the Paratethys Sea, the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, and global cooling, have been proposed (e.g., Dupont‐Nivet et al., 2007; Fang et al., 2015; J. X. Li et al., 2018; Meijer et al., 2019, 2021; Song et al., 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies from the Xorkol, Qaidam, and Xining Basins have also suggested that the role of the Paratethys Sea in hydrological cycles and silicate weathering rates in the NE Tibetan Plateau during the early‐middle Eocene was nonsignificant (Fang, Galy, et al., 2019; J. X. Li et al., 2018). The retreat of the Paratethys Sea from central Asia, which exerted a significant impact on paleoclimate change in the northern Tibetan Plateau, may not have occurred earlier than ∼40 Ma (R. E. Bosboom et al., 2014; R. Bosboom et al., 2014; Carrapa et al., 2015; J. X. Li et al., 2018; Meijer et al., 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, the preservation of early Cenozoic terrestrial sequences in this region is poor; only a few middle Eocene paleoenvironmental records exist in the Xorkol Basin (J. X. Li et al., 2018), the Xining Basin (Fang et al., 2015; Fang, Galy, et al., 2019; Z. He et al., 2019; Long et al., 2011; Meijer et al., 2021; Sayem et al., 2018), and the Qaidam Basin (Fang, Galy, et al., 2019; Song et al., 2018; M. Wu et al., 2021; Ye et al., 2018). There are different mechanisms to interpret the environmental changes in the NE Tibetan Plateau, based on these paleoenvironmental records, which have relatively low resolution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Li et al, 2018), the Xining Basin (Fang et al, 2015;Fang, Galy, et al, 2019;Z. He et al, 2019;Long et al, 2011;Meijer et al, 2021;Sayem et al, 2018), and the Qaidam Basin (Fang, Galy, et al, 2019;Song et al, 2018;M. Wu et al, 2021;Ye et al, 2018).…”

unclassified

See 3 more Smart Citations

Early‐Middle Eocene Hydroclimate Variations Recorded by Environmental Magnetism in the Linxia Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau

Feng

Zhang

Zuyi

et al. 2021

Paleoceanog and Paleoclimatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although Neogene climate change reconstruction in central Asia is important for understanding global cooling, Asian monsoon evolution, and the Tibetan Plateau stepwise uplift during the Cenozoic, the paleoenvironmental evolution during the Paleogene in this region is still ambiguous due to a lack of corresponding continuous and complete terrestrial records with precise age constraints. Recently, a new fluvial sedimentary sequence with magnetostratigraphic ages spanning from ∼53 to 40 Ma was found in the Linxia Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau, thereby providing a window to understand Eocene climate change in the Asian interior. From this fluvial sedimentary sequence, we present early‐middle Eocene hydroclimate variations based on a combined method of rock magnetism and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Our results show magnetic enhancement of fluvial sediments at 51.7 Ma resulted from abundant single‐domain magnetite inputs from the surrounding mountains through strong erosion and transport in a relatively wet environment. Subsequently, at 47.6 Ma, magnetic weakening of floodplain sediments corresponds to an increase in hematite concentrations produced via low‐temperature oxidation in a prolonged dry environment. Comparisons of paleoclimatic proxies, such as organic geochemistry and rock magnetism from neighboring basins, tectonic deformation of the NE Tibetan Plateau, and sea level change in the Paratethys Sea suggest that the hydroclimate variation from relatively wet to dry climate in the early‐middle Eocene in this area was mainly controlled by global climatic change and probably superimposed by the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

unclassified

See 2 more Smart Citations

Early‐Middle Eocene Hydroclimate Variations Recorded by Environmental Magnetism in the Linxia Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau

Feng

Zhang

Zuyi

et al. 2021

Paleoceanog and Paleoclimatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The Peri-Tethys-Siberian (Turgay strait) and Siberian-Arctic (Kara strait) connections likewise show increased restriction around middle Eocene climatic optimum times (Palcu and Krijgsman, 2022). Interestingly, a shift to more arid conditions is recorded in dust records from central China at 40 Ma (Bosboom et al, 2014;Meijer et al, 2021), i.e., coincident with the middle Eocene climatic optimum, which Meijer et al (2021) related to a major Peri-Tethys regression from the Tarim and Tajik basins around 41-40 Ma (Kaya et al, 2019). We surmise that increased restriction and euxinia in the Kuma basin can be mechanistically related to the observed middle Eocene climatic optimum-associated cooling if boreal surface inflow, e.g., from the North Sea, became dominant over the southern gateways, thereby suppressing middle Eocene climatic optimum warmth (Palcu and Krijgsman, 2022).…”

Section: Basin Restriction and Deoxygenation Associated With The Midd...mentioning

confidence: 98%

Deoxygenation and organic carbon sequestration in the Tethyan realm associated with the middle Eocene climatic optimum

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The middle Eocene climatic optimum (ca. 40 Ma) stands out as a transient global warming phase of ∼400 k.y. duration that interrupted long-term Eocene cooling; it has been associated with a rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations that has been linked to a flare-up in Arabia-Eurasia continental arc volcanism. Increased organic carbon burial in the Tethys Ocean has been proposed as a carbon sequestration mechanism to bring the middle Eocene climatic optimum to an end. To further test these hypotheses, we assessed the sedimentary and geochemical expression of the middle Eocene climatic optimum in the northern Peri-Tethys, specifically, the organic-rich Kuma Formation of the Belaya River section, located on the edge of the Scythian Platform in the North Caucasus, Russia. We constructed an age-depth model using nannofossil chronobiostratigraphy. Throughout the studied middle Eocene interval (41.2−39.9 Ma), we documented sea-surface temperatures of 32−36 °C based on the tetraether index of tetraethers consisting of 86 carbons (TEX86), depending on proxy calibration, and during the early middle Eocene climatic optimum, we observed sea-surface warming of 2−3 °C. Despite the proximity of the section to the Arabia-Eurasia volcanic arc, the hypothesized source of volcanic CO2, we found no evidence for enhanced regional volcanism in sedimentary mercury concentrations. Sedimentary trace-element concentrations and iron speciation indicate reducing bottom waters throughout the middle Eocene, but the most reducing, even euxinic, conditions were reached during late middle Eocene climatic optimum cooling. This apparent regional decoupling between ocean warming and deoxygenation hints at a role for regional tectonics in causing basin restriction and anoxia. Associated excess organic carbon burial, extrapolated to the entire regional Kuma Formation, may have been ∼8.1 Tg C yr−1, comprising ∼450 Pg C over this ∼55 k.y. interval. Combined with evidence for enhanced organic carbon drawdown in the western Peri-Tethys, this supports a quantitatively significant role for the basin in the termination of the middle Eocene climatic optimum by acting as a large organic carbon sink, and these results collectively illustrate that the closing Tethys Ocean might have affected global Paleogene climate. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of the interplay between global climate and regional oceanic gateway evolution in determining local climate and oceanographic change.

show abstract

Coupling between uplift of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt-NE Tibetan Plateau and accumulation of aeolian Red Clay in the inner Asia began at ~7 Ma

Sun

Ding

Xiao

et al. 2022

Earth-Science Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Loess‐Like Dust Appearance at 40 Ma in Central China

Cited by 20 publications

References 126 publications

Early‐Middle Eocene Hydroclimate Variations Recorded by Environmental Magnetism in the Linxia Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau

Early‐Middle Eocene Hydroclimate Variations Recorded by Environmental Magnetism in the Linxia Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau

Deoxygenation and organic carbon sequestration in the Tethyan realm associated with the middle Eocene climatic optimum

Coupling between uplift of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt-NE Tibetan Plateau and accumulation of aeolian Red Clay in the inner Asia began at ~7 Ma

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About