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Cenozoic Cooling Dominguez 1 London Dominguez Spring 2016 ERTH – 600 Abstract Around 50 mya a collision of the Indian and Eurasia plate had occurred setting off a climatic change in Earth’s carbon cycle. There have been numerous theories and factors that attributed to Cenozoic cooling such as weathering, decrease of volcanic emissions, or possibly erosion of mountain ranges that lead to the deposition of sediment contributing to a climatic feedback loop. Nonetheless, it has been identified that tectonic plates contribute a great percentage of affecting global temperature mean. Today I am here to talk about the correlation of the Tibetan Plateau creating the Himalayas and Cenozoic cooling. It took millions of years for the affect of the Indian and Eurasia plate to be involved with a feedback loop of global temperature changing. In the essay that follows, there will be organization to follow in three categories; and introduction, discussion, and conclusion. Introducing the Earth on a timeline scale within the Cenozoic Era, I will then start to discuss four components within the essay. First to discuss would be the climate conditions of the Cenozoic prior to the start of glacial and interglacial cycles. Second to discuss is the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau with evidence of geological structures. Then third, diving into Cenozoic Global cooling and to conclude with studies of the Himalaya’s that correlate with Cenozoic cooling. Cenozoic Cooling Dominguez 2 I. Introduction The Earth has experienced many fluctuations of climate changes throughout its geological history. Using stratigraphic columns and other geological tools to identify epochs within those periods, scientists have identified some causes of these global changes. Strictly identifying these fluctuations through the Cenozoic Era, we date back to 66 million years ago, right before the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. The purpose of this introduction is to introduce the Cenozoic Era, its periods, epochs and be familiar with the Cenozoic. The Cenozoic era dates back to 66 mya to present time. Within those 66 mya, the Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary periods existed. Geologists have sectioned the Periods to include subsections of time into Epochs. The Epoch of focus with this paper would be specific to the Pliocene within the Neogene Period. The area of study will be the climate of the Pliocene and the factors that could have started the global cooling trend to begin the Quaternary Period. A factor that I will be directing my paper is between the correlation of the Himalaya and the affect of climate change thereafter, specifically the Cenozoic cooling. Previously an ice-free climate, the onset of the Tibetan Plateaus and the uplift of the Himalaya have caused atmospheric temperature to drop and weathering to increase. Cenozoic Cooling Dominguez 3 The structure of this essay will include general conditions of the Cenozoic followed by discussion of the Tibet and its geological structures. Afterwards the discussion will direct towards Cenozoic global cooling followed by studies of the Himalayas showing geological and chemical evidence. To conclude this paper, we will be knowledgeable of the correlation of Cenozoic cooling and the Himalayas. II. Discussion 1. Conditions of the Cenozoic Using both a mixture of my knowledge and research to support the evidence, I will begin discussing the climate conditions of the Cenozoic Era. The Cenozoic Era is broken into two main periods; Tertiary dated 65mya to 2mya, and Quaternary dating 2mya to present. The Tertiary period is known for its extreme climate of warmth with an emphasis to the warmest period of increased CO2 during the Early Eocene (1). During the Eocene we see a peak of warmth from that increase and then a dramatic cooling in the Oligocene Epoch dated 40 to 25mya (1). The Oligocene is said to have changes in planktonic and benthonic d18 O that suggest that there was rapid ice formation, which correlates with Antarctic glaciation (2) followed with a cooling trend. In the Quaternary period, the cooling trend continues with cycles of glacial and interglacial cycles suggesting dramatic CO2 changes have occurred throughout those million of years. There are speculations as to what has contributed to the Cenozoic Cooling Dominguez 4 changes in atmospheric temperatures such as the effects of ocean gateways, CO2 changes, and possibly the increase in high latitude landmasses causing feedback loops for cooling (1). Raymo suggests “Accompanying the global escalation in orogenic uplift was an increase in the rate of weathering of silicate rocks which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere” (3). With supporting Raymo’s evidence, the next section for discussion will be the tectonic uplift of the Tibet and its continuous geological structure. 2. Uplift of the Tibet, Geological Structures Geologically based in China, the Tibetan Plateau has an area of 956,000 square miles and an altitude of 4,500 meters that occupies the highest mountains in the world, the largest canyons and different ecosystems (5). Creating and occupying the world’s largest source of water and ice, the Tibetan Plateau has also created the Himalayas to the southwest region (5). The geological structures that have created the Tibetan Plateau is from two landmasses being subjected, and with uplift rose these mountains over millions of years (6). The Tibetan Plateau is known as the “third pole,” because of its huge role in climate changes through out the history of Earth by storing and maintaining water flows, specifically basin drainage and running of streams (7). Being the highest plateau on Earth, it is confirmed through geological record to be created from the collision of two plates, the Indian and Eurasia roughly 50 mya and speculated to rise 5 mm every year (7). What is interesting is the fact that the collision of plates had Cenozoic Cooling Dominguez occurred in previous eras and then later the climate changes occurred, slow but surely causing a global climate change. 3. Cenozoic Global Cooling Figures include 5 Cenozoic Cooling 4. Himalayas, CO2 Concentrations Facts, Figures, etc. Dominguez 6 Cenozoic Cooling III. Conclusion Dominguez 7 Cenozoic Cooling Bibliography On separate paper for editing. Dominguez 8