Palaeo-environmental evolution of Central Asia during the Cenozoic

<p>In this contribution (published in Climate of the Past, CP), we identified the provenance, (post)depositional history, weathering conditions and hydroclimate that formed the silicate and soil carbonate minerals of the Valley of Lakes sediments in Central Asia during the Cenozoic (~34 to 21 Ma). Aridification pulses in continental Central Asia coincide with marine glaciation events and are caused by Cenozoic climate forcing and the exhumation of the Tian Shan and Altai mountains, which reduced the moisture influx by westerly winds.</p>