** Progress in Earth and Planetary Science is the official journal of the Japan Geoscience Union, published in collaboration with its 50 society members.
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Preface
Interdisciplinary research
202010202010
Preface for article collection “Evolution and variability of Asian Monsoon and its linkage with Cenozoic global cooling”
Ryuji Tada, Christian Betzler, Peter Clift
Asian Monsoon evolution, IODP, Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau
Although the Asian monsoon (AM) is a regional phenomenon, it exerts a significant impact on global climate. Because uplift of the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau (HTP) has been considered to play a significant role on the establishment of the AM, numerous attempts have been made to prove the linkage between HTP uplift and AM evolution. On the other hand, comparison of global climate and AM evolution during Cenozoic suggests that AM evolution is significantly affected by global climate. So, it is necessary to evaluate both factors to properly understand the evolution and variability of the AM.
Since the beginning of this century, constraints on the timing and mode of HTP uplift and related onset and spatiotemporal evolution of the AM from terrestrial localities increased drastically. However, information from marine sediments was largely limited to the late Quaternary because no attempt at deep-sea drilling of longer sections in Asia had been made since the end of the last century.
From 2013 to 2016, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program/International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) conducted a series of expeditions that were focused on AM evolution and its interaction with the wider climate system in the NW Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. In this volume of SPEPS, we introduce some of the new results concerning the evolution and variability of the AM during the Neogene obtained from IODP Expeditions 346, 355, and 359.
Papers in this collection demonstrate the results of the first round of research from IODP Expeditions 346, 355, and 359, which serve as the basis for the next stage of work. More research is in progress based on the results presented in this collection. Results from other IODP Expeditions related to Asian monsoon, such as Expedition 353, are also gradually emerging. Integration of the results from all the Asian monsoon related IODP expeditions will be desirable in the next round of analysis and interpretation.
