Raising Tibet

Abstract

Thermochronologic, sedimentologic, oceanographic, and paleoclimatic studies suggest that rapid uplift and unroofing of southern Tibet began about 20 million years ago and that the present elevation of much of the Tibetan plateau was attained by about 8 million years ago. Hypotheses advanced to explain the tectonic evolution of the India-Asia collision, which began about 40 to 50 million years ago, predict the timing and rates of crustal thickening of the southern margin of Asia. However, these models do not predict the prominently enhanced early Miocene denudation and uplift that are manifested in a variety of geological records. A model involving continental extrusion, development of a crustal-scale thrust ramp of the Main Central Thrust beneath the Gangdese belt, and lithospheric delamination provides a history consistent with these observations.

Dispersals of Hyoscyameae and Mandragoreae (Solanaceae) from the New World to Eurasia in the early Miocene and their biogeographic diversification within Eurasia

“…3), and its origin has been generally accepted as a result of the interruption of a once more continuous distribution before the uplift of the TP (Kurbanov, 1994;Proskuryakova and Belyanina, 1985;Tu et al, 2005;Ungricht et al, 1998) and has been cited as an example to show the existence of a Tertiary continuous flora in Eurasia (Sun, 2002;Wu, 2004). The uplift of the TP was mainly in the Miocene (Harrison et al, 1992) and is the major late Tertiary geologic event in Eurasia. It may have greatly affected the distributions of plants within Eurasia.…”

“…The plateau was warm and humid in the early Tertiary. The majority of the TP arose rapidly in the Miocene and reached the present height before the Pliocene (Harrison et al, 1992;Peng et al, 2006;Wang et al, 2008). In the Pliocene and in the Quaternary, the climate oscillations and the advances/retreats of glaciers may be the most remarkable features in this region.…”

“…It has been hypothesized that this distribution pattern among different Eurasian taxa could have been resulted from a common geologic or climatic event (Greuter, 1991;Jakob et al, 2007;Petit et al, 2003;Ribera and Blasco-Zumeta, 1998;Steward and Lister, 2001;Wu, 1988). Since the Cretaceous, the most remarkable physical changes of Eurasia were the retreat of Tethys Sea before Tertiary, the collision of the Indian Plate with Eurasia in early Tertiary followed by the uplift of the Himalayas and the aridification of Central Asia in the middle to late Tertiary, the connection and the breakup of Eurasia with North America through the Bering Land Bridge (BLB) and the North Atlantic Land Bridge (NALB) in the early to middle Tertiary, and the repeated advances/retreats of glaciers in the Quaternary (Barron and Peterson, 1989;Butler, 1995;Harrison et al, 1992;Lomolino et al, 2006;Tiffney and Manchester, 2001;Wen, 1999). However, the associations between the environmental changes and the distributions of plants throughout Eurasia have rarely been tested.…”

Phylogeny and biogeographic diversification of Maianthemum (Ruscaceae: Polygonatae)

“…Their divergence time is estimated to be in the late Pliocene (2.04 mya), a relatively young age. Geologic uplift of this region began about 50 mya, and the last significant increase in altitudes of the Tibetan plateau was hypothesized at about 10-8 mya ago (Harrison et al, 1992). Although the final major uplift of the Tibet plateau is still controversial (Li and Fang, 1999;Tapponnier et al, 2001), the region likely ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT reached the present elevation no later than about 3.6 mya (Cui et al, 1996;Shi et al, 1998;An et al, 2001).…”

Phylogeography of Schizopygopsis stoliczkai (Cyprinidae) in Northwest Tibetan Plateau area

“…The uplift processes of the TP is a controversial issue (Li & Fang, 1999; Tapponnier et al., 2001). Harrison & Copeland (1992) and Lippert et al. (2014) suggest that the rapid uplifting of TP begin at about 20 Mya and the present elevation of the TP be reached by about 8 Mya.…”