Accelerated mafic weathering in Southeast Asia linked to late Neogene cooling.

ABSTRACT: Arc-continent collision in Southeast Asia during the Neogene may have driven global cooling through chemical weathering of freshly exposed ophiolites resulting in atmospheric CO₂ removal. Yet, little is known about the cause-and-effect relationships between erosion and the long-term evolution of tectonics and climate in this region. Here, we present an 8-million-year record of seawater chemistry and sediment provenance from the eastern Indian Ocean, near the outflow of Indonesian Throughflow waters. Using geochemical analyses of foraminiferal shells and grain size-specific detrital fractions, we show that erosion and chemical weathering of ophiolitic rocks markedly increased after 4 million years (Ma), coincident with widespread island emergence and gradual strengthening of Paci

SUBMITTER: Bayon G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10058235 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature