Resilience of the Asian atmospheric circulation shown by Paleogene dust provenance

• Published in: Nature communications 2016-08, Vol.7 (1), p.12390-12390, Article 12390
• Main Authors: Licht, A., Dupont-Nivet, G., Pullen, A., Kapp, P., Abels, H. A., Lai, Z., Guo, Z., Abell, J., Giesler, D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 704/106/413; 704/2151/3930; Climatology; Cooling; Dust; Earth Sciences; Environmental science; Environmental Sciences; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hypotheses; multidisciplinary; Ocean, Atmosphere; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sciences of the Universe; Wind
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12390

The onset of modern central Asian atmospheric circulation is traditionally linked to the interplay of surface uplift of the Mongolian and Tibetan-Himalayan orogens, retreat of the Paratethys sea from central Asia and Cenozoic global cooling. Although the role of these players has not yet been unravelled, the vast dust deposits of central China support the presence of arid conditions and modern atmospheric pathways for the last 25 million years (Myr). Here, we present provenance data from older (42–33 Myr) dust deposits, at a time when the Tibetan Plateau was less developed, the Paratethys sea still present in central Asia and atmospheric pCO 2 much higher. Our results show that dust sources and near-surface atmospheric circulation have changed little since at least 42 Myr. Our findings indicate that the locus of central Asian high pressures and concurrent aridity is a resilient feature only modulated by mountain building, global cooling and sea retreat. The onset of modern central Asian atmospheric circulation is often linked to the interplay of late Cenozoic paleogeographic changes and global cooling. Here the authors present sedimentary provenance data from early Cenozoic dust deposits, which indicate long-term stability of the central Asian high pressure system.