A new biologic paleoaltimetry indicating Late Miocene rapid uplift of northern Tibet Plateau

The uplift of the Tibet Plateau (TP) during the Miocene is crucial to understanding the evolution of Asian monsoon regimes and alpine biodiversity. However, the northern Tibet Plateau (NTP) remains poorly investigated. We use pollen records of montane conifers (Tsuga, Podocarpus, Abies, and Picea) as a new paleoaltimetry to construct two parallel midrange paleoelevation sequences in the NTP at 1332 +/- 189 m and 433 +/- 189 m, respectively, during the Middle Miocene [similar to 15 million years ago (Ma)]. Both midranges increased rapidly to 3685 +/- 87 m in the Late Miocene (similar to 11 Ma) in the east, and to 3589 +/- 62 m at 7 Ma in the west. Our estimated rises in the east and west parts of the NTP during 15 to 7 Ma, together with data from other TP regions, indicate that during the Late Miocene the entire plateau may have reached a high elevation close to that of today, with consequent impacts on atmospheric precipitation and alpine biodiversity.

Automated summary

This study uses pollen records to investigate the uplift of the northern Tibet Plateau during the Late Miocene. The results suggest that the entire plateau may have reached a high elevation similar to today, with significant impacts on atmospheric precipitation and alpine biodiversity.