DRYING EVENT AT 500 kaBP RECORDED BY THE CHENGDU CLAY GRAIN SIZE AT THE EASTERN MARGIN OF THE TIBETAN PLATEAU

Asian aridification is a reflection of the combination of the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and global cooling. Comparison of the grain size of the Chengdu Clay from the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau and that of the Chinese Loess Plateau reveals a significant arid intensification event at about 500 ka. We estimate that the rapid uplift of the Tibetan Plateau during the middle Pleistocene and its entering cryosphere have caused this event.