Formation and evolution of Gobi Desert in central and eastern Asia

Lu, Huayu; Wang, Xianyan; Wang, Xiaoyong; Chen, Xi; Zhang, Hanzhi; Xu, Zhiwei; Zhang, Wenchao; Wei, Hai-Zhen; Zhang, Xiaojian; Yi, Su; Zhang, Wenfang; Feng, Han; Wang, Yichao; Wang, Yao; Han, Zhiyong

doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.04.014

Cited by 102 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 117 publications

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“…The second important event was the desertification of the central Asiatic region and, in particular, the formation of the Gobi Desert. The timing and processes leading to the formation of this desert are still debated [ 60 ]. However, recent studies indicate that desertification had already started in the early Miocene period [ 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogeny, Taxonomy, and Biogeography of Pterocarya (Juglandaceae)

Liu

Meng

Fragnière

et al. 2020

Plants

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Relict species play an important role in understanding the biogeography of intercontinental disjunctions. Pterocarya (a relict genus) is the valuable model taxon for studying the biogeography of East Asian versus southern European/West Asian disjunct patterns. This disjunction has not been as well studied as others (e.g., between Eastern Asia and North America). Several phylogenetic studies on Pterocarya have been conducted, but none have provided a satisfactory phylogenetic resolution. Here, we report the first well-resolved phylogeny of Pterocarya using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing data based on the sampling of all taxa across the entire distribution area of the genus. Taxonomic treatments were also clarified by combining morphological traits. Furthermore, fossil-calibrated phylogeny was used to explore the biogeography of Pterocarya. Our results support the existence of two sections in Pterocarya, which is in accordance with morphological taxonomy. Section Platyptera comprises three species: P. rhoifolia, P. macroptera, and P. delavayi. Section Pterocarya also comprises three species: P. fraxinifolia, P. hupehensis, and P. stenoptera. The divergence between the two sections took place during the early Miocene (20.5 Ma). The formation of the Gobi Desert and climate cooling of northern Siberia in the Middle Miocene (15.7 Ma) might have caused the split of the continuous distribution of this genus and the formation of the East Asian versus southern European/West Asian disjunct pattern. Lastly, the divergence between P. hupehensis and P. stenoptera as well as between P. rhoifolia and P. macroptera/P. delavayi (10.0 Ma) supports the late Miocene diversification hypothesis in East Asia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogeny, Taxonomy, and Biogeography of Pterocarya (Juglandaceae)

Liu

Meng

Fragnière

et al. 2020

Plants

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“…The Ordos deserts also have relatively negative ε Nd (0) value. Given these deserts are located in the northeast part of the studied region (such a positional relationship is discrepant with the prevailing wind direction), and the formation of these deserts was later than the XSZ red clay (Lu et al, ), we deduce that the Ordos deserts are less likely to contribute to the NE TP red clay. Therefore, we infer that the XSZ red clay sediments are mainly derived from the Tarim Basin and Qilian Mountains in the NTP, which is consistent with the zircon U‐Pb ages of red clay in the western CLP (Shang et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…The increase in the relative detrital contribution from the CAO to the loess‐paleosol sediments may have resulted from an enhanced northwesterly winter monsoon combined with differences in erosional responses in the NTP and CAO to the development of the Quaternary glacial‐interglacial climatic pattern (Chen & Li, ). More importantly, the aridification of interior Asia was intensified substantially during 4.0–2.6 Ma (Lu et al, ; Rea et al, ; Sun, ), and most of the modern desert‐Gobi environment in northern China was formed during the Pleistocene (Fan et al, ; Li, Sun, et al, ; Wang et al, ), which then supplied abundant dust for loess‐paleosol accumulation in the NE TP and CLP.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sources and Transport Dynamics of Eolian Sediments in the NE Tibetan Plateau Since 6.7 Ma

Peng

et al. 2020

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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The red clay and loess‐paleosol sediments of the Xiaoshuizi and Halagu planation surfaces of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (TP) provide insights into the response of paleo‐atmospheric circulation and surface processes to TP uplift and global climate changes. We present silicate Sr‐Nd isotope compositions and bulk sediment grain‐size parameters of the red clay and loess‐paleosol sequences, with the aim of reconstructing changes in the transporting wind systems and sediment source regions. The results indicate that the red clay on the planation surface was transported mainly by the westerlies from the Tarim Basin and the Qilian Mountains, while the loess‐paleosol sediments were transported mainly by the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) from the Badain Jaran Desert, Tengger Desert, and Qaidam Basin. These shifts in transport mechanism and source were likely related to major changes in the topography of the TP and the expansion of Northern Hemisphere glaciation since the Middle Pliocene. In addition, we reconstructed the evolution of the paleo‐atmospheric circulation from the Late Miocene to the Middle Pliocene. During the Late Miocene, both the paleo‐EAWM and East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) were weak, and westerly winds dominated the climate of the study area. During the Early Pliocene, both the paleo‐EAWM and EASM exerted an increasing influence on the study area. We ascribe the slight enhancement of the paleo‐EAWM to the gradual growth of the northern TP and the significant enhancement of the paleo‐EASM to global climate changes.

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“…Numerous studies in the central CLP show that eolian accumulation intensified in the Late Pliocene-Pleistocene, which has been interpreted as a signal of the intensified aridification of the Asian interior and an environmental response to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau (An et al, 2015;Qiang et al, 2001;Song et al, 2001;Sun et al, 1998). In addition, it has also been proposed that this Late Pliocene-Pleistocene intensification of aridity, and that of the winter monsoon, was the result of the rapid growth of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets (Ge et al, 2013;Lu et al, 2019;Xiong et al, 2003;Zan, Li, et al, 2018). This is because Earth's climate underwent significant cooling as a result of the formation and rapid expansion of ice sheets in high latitudes of both hemispheres since the Late Miocene (Zachos et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Magnetostratigraphy and Palaeoclimatic Significance of the Late Pliocene Red Clay‐Quaternary Loess Sequence in the Lanzhou Basin, Western Chinese Loess Plateau

Guo

Peng

et al. 2020

Geophysical Research Letters

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The history of red clay‐loess accumulation in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) is the key to understanding the aridification history of the Asian interior and the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. Here we present high‐resolution magnetostratigraphy and grain‐size records of a 265.7‐m‐long drill core of the red clay‐loess sequence at Gaolanshan in the Lanzhou Basin from the western CLP. Our results, combined with the loess‐paleosol stratigraphy and regional stratigraphic correlation, indicate that the most complete and continuous red clay‐loess sequence since ~3 Ma was first found in the western CLP, which is ~0.8 Myr older than the previously investigated Quaternary loess in the Lanzhou region, and the age of the oldest Lanzhou loess‐paleosol sequence is ~2.8 Ma. Consequently, the major enhancement of the aridification at 2.8 Ma in the Asian interior was primarily controlled by the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and global cooling.

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Formation and evolution of Gobi Desert in central and eastern Asia

Cited by 102 publications

References 117 publications

Phylogeny, Taxonomy, and Biogeography of Pterocarya (Juglandaceae)

Phylogeny, Taxonomy, and Biogeography of Pterocarya (Juglandaceae)

The Sources and Transport Dynamics of Eolian Sediments in the NE Tibetan Plateau Since 6.7 Ma

Magnetostratigraphy and Palaeoclimatic Significance of the Late Pliocene Red Clay‐Quaternary Loess Sequence in the Lanzhou Basin, Western Chinese Loess Plateau

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