Revised paleoaltimetry data show low Tibetan Plateau elevation during the Eocene

Abstract

Ancient height of the Tibetan Plateau The elevation of the Tibetan Plateau has a major impact on climate, affecting the monsoons and regional weather patterns. Although some isotope proxies have suggested a roughly equivalent height for the plateau as far back as the Eocene (∼40 million years ago), other lines of evidence suggest a lower elevation in the distant past. Botsyun et al. used a model to show that several previously overlooked factors contribute to the isotopic record from the Eocene (see the Perspective by van Hinsbergen and Boschman). The results harmonize the isotopic record with other proxies and argue for a Tibetan Plateau that was about 1000 meters lower than it is today. Science , this issue p. eaaq1436 ; see also p. 928