Oligocene moisture variations as evidenced by an aeolian dust sequence in Inner Mongolia, China

Joonas Wasiljeff, Johanna Salminen, Jarkko Stenman, Zhaoqun Zhang, Anu Kaakinen

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Sammanfattning

The aridification of Central Asia since the Eocene has widespread evidence, but climate-controlled environmental reorganizations during the Oligocene remain ambiguous. We employed environmental magnetic, mineralogical and geochemical methods on a latest Eocene to late Oligocene terrestrial sequence in Inner Mongolia, China, to examine how global climatic trends and regional factors influenced the evolution of moisture and weathering in the region. Highlighting the climatic influence, our weathering and rainfall proxy data document the drawdown of atmospheric CO2 and global cooling during the early Oligocene semi-arid phase, which culminated in the Early Oligocene Aridification Event at 31 Ma. Moreover, for the first time in the terrestrial eastern Central Asian setting, we provide geochemical and geophysical evidence for a second major Oligocene aridification event nearly synchronous to the mid-Oligocene Glacial Maximum at around 28 Ma. These aridification events were interrupted by periods of increased rainfall and weathering and can be associated with the terminations of glacial events seen in marine oxygen isotope records.

Originalspråkengelska
Artikelnummer5597
TidskriftScientific Reports
Volym12
Nummer1
Antal sidor14
ISSN2045-2322
DOI
StatusPublicerad - 4 apr. 2022
MoE-publikationstypA1 Tidskriftsartikel-refererad

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