Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Evolution of Asian monsoons and phased uplift of the Himalaya–Tibetan plateau since Late Miocene times

Nature volume 411, pages 62–66 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

The climates of Asia are affected significantly by the extent and height of the Himalayan mountains and the Tibetan plateau1,2,3,4. Uplift of this region began about 50 Myr ago, and further significant increases in altitude of the Tibetan plateau are thought to have occurred about 10–8 Myr ago4,5, or more recently. However, the climatic consequences of this uplift remain unclear. Here we use records of aeolian sediments from China6,7 and marine sediments from the Indian8,9,10 and North Pacific oceans11 to identify three stages of evolution of Asian climates: first, enhanced aridity in the Asian interior and onset of the Indian and east Asian monsoons, about 9–8 Myr ago; next, continued intensification of the east Asian summer and winter monsoons, together with increased dust transport to the North Pacific Ocean11, about 3.6–2.6 Myr ago; and last, increased variability and possible weakening of the Indian and east Asian summer monsoons and continued strengthening of the east Asian winter monsoon since about 2.6 Myr ago. The results of a numerical climate-model experiment, using idealized stepwise increases of mountain–plateau elevation, support the argument that the stages in evolution of Asian monsoons are linked to phases of Himalaya–Tibetan plateau uplift and to Northern Hemisphere glaciation.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Locations of geographic features and terrestrial and marine records.
Figure 2: Terrestrial and marine records from the Chinese Loess plateau and the southern margin of Asia.
Figure 3: Climate indices from an experiment with four idealized stages of Himalaya–Tibetan plateau elevation (HT-1 to HT-4) and one glacial maximum stage (G) made with the NCAR climate model CCM3.
Figure 4: Terrestrial and marine records dating from 6 to about 2 Myr ago from China and the North Pacific, and indicating changes in Asian climate and global-scale glaciation.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Kutzbach J. E., Prell, W. L. & Ruddiman W. F. Sensitivity of Eurasian climate to surface uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. J. Geol. 101, 177–190 (1993).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Kutzbach J. E., Ruddiman, W. F. & Prell, W. L. in Tectonic Uplift and Climate Change (ed. Ruddiman, W. F.)) 149–170 (Plenum, New York, 1997).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  3. Broccoli, A. J. & Manabe, S. The effects of orography on midlatitute Northern Hemisphere dry climates. J. Clim. 5, 1181–1201 (1992).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Molnar, P., England, P. & Martiod, J. Mantle dynamics, uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the Indian monsoon development. Rev. Geophys. 34, 357–396 (1993).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Harrison, T. M., Copeland, P., Kidd, W. S. F. & Yin, A. Raising Tibet. Science 255, 1663–1670 (1992).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Sun, D. H., Liu, T. S., Chen, M. Y. & Shaw, J. Magnetostratigraphy and paleoclimate of Red Clay sequences from the Chinese Loess Plateau. Sci. China D. 40, 337–343 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Sun, D. H., An, Z. S., Shaw, J., Bloemendal, J. & Sun, Y. B. Magnetostratigraphy and palaeoclimatic significance of Late Tertiary aeolian sequences in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Geophys. J. Int. 134, 207–212 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Prell, W. L., Murray, D. W., Clemens, S. C. & Anderson, D. M. in Synthesis of Results from Scientific Drilling in the Indian Ocean (eds Duncan, R. A. et al.) 447–469 (Geophysical Monograph Series 70, American Geophysical Union, Washington DC, 1992).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Prell, W. L. & Kutzbach, J. E. in Tectonic Uplift and Climate Change (ed. Ruddiman, W. F.) 172–203 (Plenum, New York, 1997).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Kroon, D., Steens, T. N. F. & Troelstra, S. R. Onset of monsoonal related upwelling in the western Arabian Sea. Proc. ODP Sci. Res. 117, 257–263 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Rea, D. K., Snoeck, H. & Joseph, L. H. Late Cenozoic eolian deposition in the North Pacific: Asian drying, Tibetan uplift, and cooling of the Northern Hemisphere. Paleoceanography 13, 215–224 (1998).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Quade, J., Cerling, T. E. & Bowman, J. R. Development of Asian monsoon revealed by marked ecological shift in the latest Miocene of northern Pakistan. Nature 342, 163–166 (1989).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Cerling, T. E. et al. Global vegetation change through the Miocene/Pliocene boundary. Nature 389, 153–158 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Ma, Y. Z., Li, J. J. & Fang, X. M. Pollen assemblage in 30.6-5.0 Ma redbeds of Linxia region and climate evolution. Chinese Sci. Bull. 43, 301–304 (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Porter, S. C. & An, Z. S. Correlation between climate events in the North Atlantic and China during the last glaciation. Nature 375, 305–308 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Kukla, G. & An, Z. S. Loess stratigraphy in central China. Paleogeogr. Paleoclimatol. Paleoecol. 72, 203–225 (1989).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. An, Z. S. et al. Eolian evidence from the Chinese Loess Plateau: the onset of the late Cenozoic Great Glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere and Qinghai-Xizang Plateau uplift forcing. Sci. China D 42, 258–271 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Maher, B. A. Characterization of soils by mineral magnetic measurements. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 42, 76–92 (1986).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Chen, J., An, Z. S. & Head, J. Variation of Rb/Sr ratios in the loess-paleosol sequences of central China during the last 130,000 years and their implications for monsoon paleoclimatology. Quat. Res. 51, 215–219 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Shackleton, N. J., Hall, M. A. & Pate, D. Pliocene stable isotope stratigraphy of site 846. Proc. ODP Sci. Res. 138, 337–355 (1995).

    Google Scholar 

  21. Prell, W. L. & Kutzbach, J. E. Sensitivity of the Indian monsoon to forcing parameters and implications for its evolution. Nature 360, 647–652 (1992).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. Zheng, H., Powell, C., An, Z., Zhou, J. & Dong, G. Pliocene uplift of the northern Tibetan Plateau. Geology 28, 715–718 (2000).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. Li, J. J. et al. Late Cenozoic magnetostratigraphy (11-0 Ma) of the Dongshanding and Wangjiashan section in the Longzhong Basin, western China. Geol. Mijnbouw 76, 121–134 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Metivier, F., Gaudemer, Y., Tapponnier, P. & Meyer, B. Northeastward growth of the Tibet plateau deduced from balanced reconstruction of two depositional areas: the Qaidam and Hexi Corridor basins, China. Tectonics 17, 823–842 (1998).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Burchfiel, B. C. et al. Geology of the Haiyuan fault zone, Ningxia-Hui Autonomous region, China, and its relation to the evolution of the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Tectonics 10, 1091–1110 (1991).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. Royden, L. H. et al. Surface deformation and lower crustal flow in Eastern Tibet. Science 276, 788–790 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. England, P. & Houseman, G. Finite strain calculations of continental deformation. Comparison with India-Asia collision. J. Geophys. Res. 91, 3664–3676 (1986).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. Clemens, S., Murray, D. W. & Prell, W. L. Nonstationary phase of the Plio-Pleistocene Asian monsoon. Science 274, 943–948 (1996).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Raymo, M. E., Ruddiman, W. F. & Froelich, P. N. Influence of late Cenozoic mountain building on ocean geochemical cycles. Geology 16, 649–653 (1988).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Haug, G. H. & Tiedemann, R. Effect of the formation of the Isthmus of Panama on Atlantic Ocean thermohaline circulation. Nature 393, 673–676 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Ramstein, G., Fluteau, F., Besse, J. & Joussaume, S. Effect of orogeny, plate motion and land–sea distribution on Eurasian climate change over the past 30 million years. Nature 386, 788–795 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The model simulations used climate models and computer resources provided by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. This work was supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Chinese National Science Foundation, and by grants to the University of Wisconsin and Brown University from the US National Science Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Box 17, Xi’an, 710054, China

    An Zhisheng

  2. Center for Climatic Research, Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1225 W. Dayton Street, Madison, 53706, Wisconsin, USA

    John E. Kutzbach

  3. Geological Sciences, Brown University, Box 1846, Providence, Rhode Island, 02912-1846, USA

    Warren L. Prell

  4. Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Box 351310, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA

    Stephen C. Porter

Authors
  1. An Zhisheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John E. Kutzbach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Warren L. Prell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Stephen C. Porter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John E. Kutzbach.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zhisheng, A., Kutzbach, J., Prell, W. et al. Evolution of Asian monsoons and phased uplift of the Himalaya–Tibetan plateau since Late Miocene times. Nature 411, 62–66 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35075035

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35075035

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing