Eocene-Oligocene stratigraphy and paleogeography of Chinese sedimentary basins

Abstract

This thesis presents new chronostratigraphic and paleogeographic data from several Eocene-Oligocene marine to lacustrine basins in China. These basins range from the westernmost to the easternmost parts of China. The results allow a better understanding of major geological events during the Eocene-Oligocene and a better reconstruction of main paleogeographical and paleoclimatic changes in the East Asian region after the Indo‐Asia collision. The Paleogene transgressive-regressive cycles in the Tarim Basin may be associated with far‐field tectonic effects of the Indo‐Asia collision and a multistep uplift of the Pamir/Tibetan plateau. Almost all large present-day’s rivers in Asia (e.g., Yellow, Yangtze, and Mekong), originate on the Tibetan Plateau, and flow into different seas, responding to the uplifting Tibetan Plateau and the changing topography and climate of eastern Asia. Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and westward retreat of the proto-Paratethys sea can trigger the observed Asian paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic, and monsoonal changes. In summary, the main geological events in this thesis are markedly influenced by the Indo‐Asia collision and the subsequent uplift of the Tibetan Plateau.