Miocene East Asia summer monsoon precipitation variability and its possible driving forces

Highlights: • A quantitative record of Miocene EASM from northern China was obtained. • The EASM stepwise decreased from ~17.1 Ma to 7.4 Ma and increased after ~7.4 Ma. • Middle Miocene EASM evolution is mainly regulating by temperature changes. • Palaeogeography play a key role in controlling the evolution of late Miocene EASM. Abstract The East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) precipitation is vital to hydrology, ecology and societal activities in the densely populated region of East Asia. However, its long-term evolution history and driving forces during the relatively warm Miocene remain unclear, even conflicting in some intervals. Here, we present a new, and quantitative record of EASM precipitation during Miocene using the Bayesian approach of Climate Reconstruction Software (CREST) based on pollen flora from the Tianshui Basin located on the northwestern Tibetan Plateau (TP). The results demonstrate that a strong and relatively stable EASM precipitation period occurred during the Neogene in northern China at ~17.1–13.6 Ma, which was followed by a strong and gradual decreasing period between ~13.6 and 7.4 Ma. This trend was abruptly stopped at ~7.4 Ma with the beginning of a period of large amplitude precipitation increase. The comparison analysis reveals that the gradual decrease of EASM precipitation during the period of ~17.1–7.4 Ma was primarily controlled by the global cooling, whereas the significant increase period after ~7.4 Ma was mainly related to the late Miocene uplift of the TP, supporting climate model simulations, in which both the global temperature and palaeogeography play important roles in regulating the long-term evolution of EASM precipitation