A ∼12 Myr Miocene Record of East Asian Monsoon Variability From the South China Sea

The long‐term evolution of the East Asian Monsoon and the processes controlling its variability under changing climate boundary conditions remain enigmatic. Here, we integrate new and published high‐resolution planktic and benthic foraminiferal isotope data with proxy records for chemical weathering derived from diffuse reflectance spectroscopy at Ocean Drilling Program Site 1146 (South China Sea) to reconstruct the evolution of the summer monsoon between ∼17 and 5 Ma. Our records show that an overall warm and humid tropical climate prevailed over southeastern Asia during the Miocene Climatic Optimum, suggesting northward expansion of the tropical rain belt in response to greenhouse gas forcing. By contrast, monsoon seasonality increased during the middle Miocene Climatic Transition in tandem with Antarctic glacial expansion and global cooling. Substantial weakening of the summer monsoon between ∼12.7 and 10.9 Ma supports that decreased weathering and riverine input of nutrients and alkalinity contributed to carbonate depletion in the deep ocean during the Carbonate Crash. Intensification of monsoonal circulation and strengthening of the biological pump through the late Miocene promoted carbon burial, drawdown of atmospheric CO2, and climate cooling during the Biogenic Bloom. These results underscore the dynamic evolution of the East Asian Monsoon throughout the middle to late Miocene. Variations in local insolation forcing and in Southern Hemisphere ice volume, influencing the latitudinal thermal gradient, evaporation‐moisture budgets, and the strength of the tropical convection, exerted major controls on the development of the monsoon.Key Points: Equable, warm, and humid climate over Southeast Asia during Miocene Climatic Optimum due to latitudinal expansion of tropical convection. Intensification of seasonal monsoonal regime linked to stepwise climate cooling during middle Miocene Climatic Transition. Decreased riverine input of alkalinity to ocean due to summer monsoon decline contributed to middle to late Miocene Carbonate Crash.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/50110000165