Regime shift to extensive valley glaciations over High Mountain Asia during the Early-Middle Pleistocene

Qing Yan (), Lewis A. Owen, Ting Wei, Philip D. Hughes, Xiaohan Kong, Nanxuan Jiang, Jinzhe Zhang, Zhongshi Zhang and Huijun Wang
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Qing Yan: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lewis A. Owen: North Carolina State University
Ting Wei: Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences
Philip D. Hughes: University of Manchester
Xiaohan Kong: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Nanxuan Jiang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jinzhe Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhongshi Zhang: Peking University
Huijun Wang: Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract In contrast to the well-established onset of Northern Hemisphere high-latitude glaciation at ~2.7 Ma, the timing and drivers of the intensified glaciation over High Mountain Asia (HMA) remain elusive, as glacial geologic evidence within this region is inherently fragmentary. Here, we offer a spatiotemporally complete view of glacier behavior over HMA spanning the last 3 Ma using transient climate-glaciation simulations to address this challenge. We illustrate that intensified glaciations with expanded ice caps and widespread valley glaciation began at ~0.9 Ma over the monsoonal-influenced southern HMA confirmed by the glacial sediments, whereas the intensification started earlier (~1.5 Ma) over the westerly-influenced western HMA, with a further intensification at ~1.0–0.9 Ma, supported by paleoenvironmental proxies. The intensification of glaciation masks obvious shifts in the amplitude and pacing of glacier variability (e.g., the establishment of the 100-ka cycle) and induces larger environmental perturbations, which are in line with geologic evidence and largely linked with the long-term global cooling during the mid-Pleistocene transition.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-60438-5

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