Several lines of evidence point toward some kind of change in the balance of geodynamic processes acting on Tibet and concurrent changes in environmental conditions approximately 8 million years ago. Whether the principal triggering event was brief, or took place over several million years depends somewhat on which data are considered most suggestive. As is typical, the relevant data are all flawed or weak in some way, but they are sufficiently suggestive to merit an investigation into how Tibet has grown in the past 10-20 Myr and how that growth might have affected neaby environments. This award provides support for an exploratory field investigation to determine how the P.I.s might explore the interrelationships between geodynamic processes occurring within the crust and upper mantle and environmental changes that occurred within and surrounding Tibet, as well as possibly global changes. Specifically, the P.I.s would be able to meet with their Chinese colleagues, see first hand the field areas where data would be gathered, and examine and assess the suitability of existing Chinese data bearing on the problem.
Some potential outcomes of a broader scope include an understanding of a much larger climate change, not just the Asian monsoon, but also changes that led to global cooling and the Ice Ages. The US scientists that would participate comprise a group that includes 4 junior scientists of diverse backgrounds and the field trip will provide an opportunity for them to become involved with a possible large, international, multidisciplinary project.
