Large-scale hydrological change drove the late Miocene C4 plant expansion in the Himalayan foreland and Arabian Peninsula

Research Article| June 01, 2007 Large-scale hydrological change drove the late Miocene C4 plant expansion in the Himalayan foreland and Arabian Peninsula Yongsong Huang; Yongsong Huang 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Steven C. Clemens; Steven C. Clemens 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Weiguo Liu; Weiguo Liu 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Yi Wang; Yi Wang 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Warren L. Prell Warren L. Prell 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Yongsong Huang 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Steven C. Clemens 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Weiguo Liu 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Yi Wang 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Warren L. Prell 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 17 Jan 2007 Revision Received: 25 Jan 2007 Accepted: 30 Jan 2007 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2007) 35 (6): 531–534. https://doi.org/10.1130/G23666A.1 Article history Received: 17 Jan 2007 Revision Received: 25 Jan 2007 Accepted: 30 Jan 2007 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Yongsong Huang, Steven C. Clemens, Weiguo Liu, Yi Wang, Warren L. Prell; Large-scale hydrological change drove the late Miocene C4 plant expansion in the Himalayan foreland and Arabian Peninsula. Geology 2007;; 35 (6): 531–534. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G23666A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Carbon isotope changes in paleosols from Siwalik, Pakistan, and marine sediments from the Bengal Fan indicate a major C4 plant expansion in the Himalayan foreland during the late Miocene. However, the timing and mechanisms behind the C4 plant expansion remain enigmatic. Here we present high-resolution (∼60 k.y.) biomarker and compound-specific isotope data spanning the past 11 m.y. from Ocean Drilling Program Site 722 in the Arabian Sea. An ∼5‰–6‰ increase in leaf wax δ13 C values indicates a marked rise of C4 plants from 10 to 5.5 Ma, with accelerated expansion from 7.9 to 5.5 Ma. A concurrent ∼50‰ rise in leaf wax δD values is attributed to a combined effect of changes in precipitation amount and evaporation, indicating that source regions for the plant waxes became progressively drier from 10 to 5.5 Ma. In contrast to earlier reports, our isotope records, biomarker abundances, alkenone UK′37, and Globigerina bulloides abundance data do not suggest enhanced summer monsoon circulation during this time interval. Rather, our results suggest that large-scale hydrological changes drove the late Miocene expansion of C4 plants in the Himalayan foreland and Arabian Peninsula. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.