Paleogeographic constraints on Miocene Monsoon evolution

Modelers from the group in collaboration with C.Bolton, A.Licht and G.Dupont-Nivet studied the development of modern-like South Asian Monsoon using Miocene paleoclimate simulations. Results have just been publish in Nature Geoscience.

They show that monsoon winds and rainfall evolved with different timing during the Neogene as they react to different paleogeographic elements that have their own chronology. This study highlights that (often forgotten) paleogeographic changes at the western border of Indian Ocean (East Africa and Middle East) have been crucial for the settlement of the modern atmospheric circulation, while monsoon rainfall intensity mainly responds to increasing elevation in the Himalayas region.

Those results reconcile for the first time divergent views of monsoon evolution and shed light on mechanisms forcing the Miocene « onset » of the system.

Reference : Sarr, A-C., Donnadieu, Y., Bolton, C., Ladant, J-B., Licht, A., Fluteau, F., Laugié, M., Tardif, D., Dupont-Nivet, G. Neogene South Asian Monsoon Rainfall and Wind Histories diverged due to topographic effects, Nature Geoscience, published online (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00919-0