Journal
SCIENCE ADVANCES
Volume 5, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aav2189
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Funding
- Strategic Priority Research Program of CAS [XDA20070301, XDA20070203]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [31470325, 31590823, 41430102, 41872006]
- NSFC-NERC (Natural Environment Research Council of the United Kingdom) joint research program [41661134049, NE/P013805/1]
- XTBG International Fellowship for Visiting Scientists
- National Key R&D Program of China [2017YFC0505200]
- Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, CAS [QYZDB-SSW-SMC016]
- Youth Innovation Promotion Association, CAS [2017439, 2017103]
- CAS 135 program [2017XTBG-F01]
- NERC [NE/P013805/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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The Late Paleogene surface height and paleoenvironment for the core area of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) remain critically unresolved. Here, we report the discovery of the youngest well-preserved fossil palm leaves from Tibet. They were recovered from the Late Paleogene (Chattian), ca. 25.5 +/- 0.5 million years, paleolake sediments within the Lunpola Basin (32.033 degrees N, 89.767 degrees E), central QTP at a present elevation of 4655 m. The anatomy of palms renders them intrinsically susceptible to freezing, imposing upper bounds on their latitudinal and altitudinal distribution. Combined with model-determined paleoterrestrial lapse rates, this shows that a high plateau cannot have existed in the core of Tibet in the Paleogene. Instead, a deep paleovalley, whose floor was <2.3 km above mean sea level bounded by (>4 km) high mountain systems, formed a topographically highly varied landscape. This finding challenges prevailing views on tectonic processes, monsoon dynamics, and the evolution of Asian biodiversity.
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