Eco-environmental effects of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau uplift during the Quaternary in China |
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Authors: | Dianfa Zhang L Fengquan B Jianmin |
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Institution: | (1) The State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang. 550002. P.R. China e-mail: zhangdianfa@z63.net, CN;(2) College of Environment and Construction Engineering Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun City. 130026. P.R. China, CN |
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Abstract: | The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau uplifted >3000 m in the Quaternary period. The average rate of uplift was 1–1.1 mm/year. The uplifting
has remolded the geomorphology of China. The landform in China was changed from west-low and east-high to west-high and east-low
in three steps. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau uplift is an important factor that affected the climate and the environment of China
in the Quaternary period. It controls atmospheric circulation and climatic change in Asia and even the northern hemisphere,
by dividing the westerlies into two branches: south and north. The plateau gradually became a heat source in summer and a
cold source in winter. The uplift had a decisive effect on the formation of the East-Asia monsoon, which increased the climatic
differences between the glacial period and the interglacial period. The climate and environment of China are characterized
by the influences of the plateau uplift. The east of China became the south-east monsoon area, whereas the south-west became
the south-west monsoon area and the north-west turned into an arid inland region. The Gobi and large-scale deserts that formed
in the inland basins are ceaselessly extending. The climate of northern China became more arid as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
continued to uplift. The Plateau uplift affected glacial evolvement and loess formation, and propelled the migration of cold-
and warm-blooded animals, which differed from other regions of the world at the same latitude.
Received: 30 August 1999 · Accepted: 18 April 2000 |
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Keywords: | China East-Asia Monsoon Eco-environmental effect Quaternary period Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
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