Magnetochronology of Mid-Miocene mammalian fauna in the Lanzhou Basin,northeastern Tibetan Plateau:Implications for Asian mammal migration

The Quantougou(QTG) Fauna in central Lanzhou Basin is an important late Mid-Miocene fauna on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau margin,but its numerical age remains a matter of debate.Here,we present a new magnetostratigraphic record for a fluvio-lacustrine section to further constrain the age of the QTG Fauna.Results suggest that the studied section spans from polarity chrons C5Cn.2n to C5 n.2n or C5 An.1n,with ages of ca.16.5 Ma to 10 Ma or 16.5 Ma to 12 Ma.The QTG Fauna is located at the top of polarity chron C5r.3 r or C5 Ar.2 r,which corresponds to an age of 11.7 Ma or 12.8 Ma for the fauna.Accordingly,the associated Myocricetodontinae(a subfamily of Gerbillidae,Rodentia) is suggested to have appeared in the Lanzhou Basin at 11.7 Ma or 12.8 Ma,which is the oldest Myocricetodontinae in East Asia but is still much younger than the ~20 Ma appearance of this subfamily in West and South Asia.Our age data support the interpretation that East Asian Myocricetodontinae originated from South Asia.The QTG fauna further suggest a dry and open grassland environment,which is consistent with global cooling after the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum.

Paleoclimatic application of spectral parameters to the eolian red clay of the Jianzha Basin,northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Reflectance spectroscopy is rapid,inexpensive,and non-destructive and can provide important information about the mineralogy of rocks and sediments.We measured the reflectance spectroscopy of Miocene red clay deposits on the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau,with the aim of developing a rapid methodology for detecting paleoclimatic changes.We obtained visible/near-infrared(VNIR)and short-wave infrared(SWIR)spectroscopy data from the red clay in the Jianzha Basin,and analyzed their relationship with independent paleoclimatic records,including mineral contents and environmental magnetic parameters.The results show that the VNIR parameters,including D500,D900,R500,and R900(where D and R represent the depth and reflectance of the absorption peaks around 500 and 900 nm,respectively)are temperature-sensitive and correlated with the magnetic susceptibility,frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility,and the marine δ^(18)O record.The results of frequency-domain analysis of the VNIR parameters show that they reflect climate change on orbital timescales.SWIR parameters,such as AS1400,D1400/D1900 and D1900(where AS represents the asymmetry of the absorption peaks around1400 nm),are correlated with the illite and montmorillonite content,and they are sensitive to the weathering intensity.The spectral parameters of the eolian red clay in the Jianzha Basin reflect regional climatic changes caused by the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau at~8.5 Ma and global climatic cooling at~7.2 Ma,and thus they are applicable as both regional and global paleoenvironmental indicators.

Late Miocene–early Pleistocene paleoproductivity variations of the Lop Nor in the Tarim Basin and its implications on aridification in Asian Interior

Extensive lacustrine deposits in the eastern Tarim Basin provide records of climate change influenced by the westerly winds and the Asian monsoon. To characterize the evolution of climate change in this region, we analyze elemental concentrations of barium(Ba) from the Ls2 drill core of Lop Nor, a paleo-lakebed located in the eastern Tarim Basin. Biogenic Ba concentrations from this drill core display a large-amplitude oscillation that generally follows a pattern similar to that of Artemisia content and ostracod assemblages, suggesting that is may serve as an index for climate change experienced in the basin. Our results indicate that biogenic Ba is especially sensitive to precipitation. All climatic proxies served in this study vary significantly over late Miocene to early Pleistocene time period. Strong aridification of eastern Tarim in the late Miocene to the early Pliocene may be attributed to a latitudinal shift in the westerly winds, which would have resulted in more moisture transported to southern and eastern Tibet. The growth of the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau may have acted as an orographic barrier that blocked moisture sourced in the south from the northern margins of the plateau. We link weaker aridification in the late Pliocene to an increased intensity of the Indian Monsoon.

Do non-dipole geomagnetic field behaviors persistently exist in the subarctic Pacific Ocean over the past 140 ka?

Paleomagnetic records from globally distributed locations are essential for fully understanding geomagnetic field variations,particularly non-dipole field fluctuations[1].Paleomagnetic studies on historical time scales have demonstrated the existence of persistent geomagnetic flux patches,such as the Canadian(North America)and Siberian(East Asia)flux lobes,which may result from an organizing structure imposed on the geomagnetic field by lower mantle heterogeneity[2].Holocene paleomagnetic secular variations,reconstructed from the Alaskan margin of the Subarctic Pacific Ocean(SPO)[3]and revealed by dynamo modeling[4],further suggest that time-varying flux expulsions on the core-mantle boundary recurrently occur in high-latitude locations(Fig.la).