Magnetostratigraphic study of a Late Cretaceous−Paleogene succession in the eastern Xining basin, NE Tibet: Constraint on the timing of major tectonic events in response to the India-Eurasia collision

Cretaceous-Cenozoic basins developed in the NE Tibetan Plateau contain key archives to unravel the growth history of the plateau in response to the India-Eurasia collision. Here we present magnetostratigraphic results of a Late Cretaceous to Paleogene succession of the Zhongba section outcropping at the southern margin of the eastern Xining basin. This succession consists of three lithological units punctuated by two stratigraphic unconformities, which best recorded the deformation history of this foreland basin. Detailed magnetostratigraphic investigation show that the lower terrestrial sedimentary rock unit, the Minhe Group, was deposited in latest Cretaceous in the time span of ca. 74.5−69.2 Ma; the middle unit was deposited in Paleogene in the time span of ca. 49.3−22 Ma; and the upper conglomeratic unit, not dated, possibly was deposited in early Miocene. Accordingly, the Cretaceous−Paleogene unconformity, widely observed in the foreland basins of NE Tibet, represents a sedimentary hiatus duration of ∼19.9 m.y., from ca. 69.2 Ma to ca. 49.3 Ma, which possibly recorded the far-field response to the tectonic transition from Neo-Tethys oceanic plate subduction to the India-Eurasia collision in southern Tibet. Changes in provenance, sedimentary accumulation rate, and mean susceptibility value at ca. 33−30 Ma, and the total prolate anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) ellipsoids and provenance shifting since ca. 23−19 Ma, point to the pulsed growth of West Qinling, and rapid uplift of Laji Shan, respectively, indicating an enhanced effect of the India-Eurasia collision in Oligocene and early Miocene. AMS results show a clockwise rotation of the shortening direction from NEN-SWS in latest Cretaceous to NE-SW in Paleogene.

Supplemental Material: Magnetostratigraphic study of a Late Cretaceous–Paleogene succession in the eastern Xining basin, NE Tibet: Constraint on the timing of major tectonic events in response to the India-Eurasia collision

This material includes a data packet, one figure, and three tables, providing the additional paleomagnetic and provenance information of the Zhongba section in detail.

Supplemental Material: Magnetostratigraphic study of a Late Cretaceous–Paleogene succession in the eastern Xining basin, NE Tibet: Constraint on the timing of major tectonic events in response to the India-Eurasia collision

This material includes a data packet, one figure, and three tables, providing the additional paleomagnetic and provenance information of the Zhongba section in detail.

Supplemental Material: Magnetostratigraphic study of a Late Cretaceous–Paleogene succession in the eastern Xining basin, NE Tibet: Constraint on the timing of major tectonic events in response to the India-Eurasia collision

This material includes a data packet, one figure, and three tables, providing the additional paleomagnetic and provenance information of the Zhongba section in detail.

Temperature decrease through the Eocene-Oligocene transition controls eco-hydrologic shifts in Central Asia

<p>At ca. 34 Ma the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) marks the shift from greenhouse conditions during the Eocene to the icehouse of the Oligocene and was the most pronounced cooling event during the Cenozoic. This event is well documented in marine records with a significant increase in benthic foraminifera δ18O values suggesting a 5°C cooling in air temperature through the EOT. Instead, the few but growing number of terrestrial records suggest a much larger cooling of 4-9°C. Yet, details regarding the exact timing of cooling and ensuing terrestrial changes in climate, hydrology, and ecology are sparse. Here, we investigate the impact of the EOT cooling event and associated climatic changes on the hydrology and vegetation in central China. We use stable isotopes of hydrogen (δD<sub>wax</sub>) and carbon (δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>wax</sub>) from leaf-waxes, a paleo-hydrology proxy obtained from organic material in sedimentary rocks, in combination with pollen data from a continuous well-dated, high-resolution sedimentary section from the Xining Basin in NE Tibet (36°42' N, 101°43' E). We then compare our results to a fully-coupled, global climate model (GCM) simulating the pre- and post-EOT conditions in central Asia.</p><p>The obtained δD<sub>wax </sub>record ranges between -160 to -190‰ and shows a complex two-step transition through the EOT with a rapid initial drop of -30‰ from 33.9 to 33.7 Ma, a recovery to pre-EOT values between 33.7 to 33.4 Ma and a second drop similar in magnitude as the first one. In contrast, δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>wax</sub> values remain unchanged at -29 to -28‰ through the EOT. The GCM indicates a difference in temperature throughout the year between pre- and post-EOT runs of 8-9°C at the Xining Basin with change in seasonality due to the collapse of the pre-EOT wet spring season, yielding mainly autumn precipitation after the transition. The overall precipitation amount remained in both simulations dry with < 500 mm/yr. The combined results show that the region experienced: (a) a significant temperature drop of 8-9°C through the EOT being the first-order control on the records decrease in δD<sub>wax </sub> (1-2 ‰ per 1°C in mid-latitudes and up-to 5 ‰ per 1°C in higher latitudes) through the EOT; (b) constant bioproductivity and/or similar water-use efficiency within plants displayed by unchanged δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>wax </sub>values; (c) a changeover from a “warm-wet” desert abundant in Nitraria and Ephedra shrubs to a “temperate” desert with an expansion of conifers and broad-leaf trees in the higher-elevation hinterlands. We interpret that this change in seasonality and cooler EOT temperatures reduced the plant’s overall transpirational pressure, contributing to the spread of conifers and broad-leaf trees after the EOT under regionally new hydrologic conditions.</p>

Intensified hydrological cycle during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) recorded in the Xining Basin, NE Tibet

<p>The evolution of Asian climate during the Cenozoic is traditionally linked to shifts in paleogeography such as the proto-Paratethys Sea incursions and uplift of the Tibetan Plateau driving monsoonal circulation and affecting the mid-latitude westerlies in Central Asia. In contrast, the role of global climate in the Asian hydrological cycle remains unclear. Here, we present a new stratigraphic record from the terrestrial Xining Basin in central China, which covers the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO), a period characterized by long-term global warmth and elevated atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> levels. The record is dated using magnetostratigraphy and extends the previously studied Paleogene strata down to 50.9 Ma (chron C23n). We use a variety of paleoclimate proxies, to derive the hydroclimatic evolution of the basin at this time. The lithostratigraphy is characterized by organic-rich mudrocks and gypsum beds (reaching TOC contents of up to 1.7%) interpreted as an alluvial mudflat to saline lake. The higher organic content of the strata indicates either increased organic productivity or preservation, both of which suggest a wetter depositional environment during the EECO. This is corroborated by palynological records showing a large increase in the abundance and diversity of trilete spores, indicating a wetter biome at this time. In addition, the d<sup>13</sup>C values of the bulk organic matter and leaf waxes (both C<sub>29</sub> and C<sub>31</sub>), suggest a reduction in water stress on plants and a wetter environment as well. These observations are in stark contrast to the arid red beds, evaporites and xerophytic pollen observed in the underlying Cretaceous-Paleocene strata and overlying middle-late Eocene deposits. The peak global warmth of the EECO is thus clearly linked to an intensified Asian hydrological cycle suggesting a major driving role for global climate.</p><p> </p>