COUPLING OF THE LITHOSPHERIC CONVERGENCE OF WEST CHINA AND DISPERSION OF EAST CHINA IN CENOZOIC: LINK WITH PALEOENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES
中国西部新生代岩石圈汇聚和东部岩石圈离散的耦合关系与古环境格局演变的探讨

Analyses of deformation, sedimentation and magmatism in the continental marginal basins of the northern South China Sea and the Bohai basin in North China in Cenozoic indicate a penecomtemporaneous process with multi-stage deformation and raising of the Tibetan plateau since the collision of India with Asia. Intense deformation and uplifting of Tibet concurred with extension and rapid tectonic subsidence in the study basins. However, the relative tectonic silence and denudation in Tibet corresponds frequently to magmatic activity and slower subsidence in the basins. Furthermore, the multi-stage tectono-magmatic events of Tibet are also nearly synchronous with occurrence of the eastern Asian monsoon and of the three global cold events. These chronological coincidences suggest that thermal effect resulted from the collision-induced mantle upwelling and flow in the vertical and horizontal directions in Tibet might be one of the triggers for setting up the plateau monsoon, strengthening the planetary westerly winds and the cooling in high latitude of the Earth, as well as initiating the Asian monsoon.