China - Overview and geological history

Loess - alter climates due to wind blown aerosol, provides an extenisve palaeorecord 

Can also use marine and speleothem records from off the coast

Monsoon driven by uplift of the Tibetan Plateau - draws in moisture, rains sustain over 2/3 of world population

Problems in the area of extreme events such as flooding, drought and dust storms - large impacts on human health

Large population, many of these may not be included in national figures as they live in remote areas - these people are uneducated with low job prospects (usually farmers)

Uplift of Tibet argued to be the cause of the Quaternary iceage causing N Hemisphere ice sheet expansion

Tectonically active area with high pops therefore more damage caused - effects are global

Formation of China

Precambrian - until 542 Ma

• Formation of main cratons - peices of very old continent that were present in this era
• Northern blocks collided to form N China
• Time that most of Earth was under glaciation

Permo-Carboniferous (280 Ma)

• N China collides with Siberia and Russia joining them together
• South China still separate at this point

Early Triassic (237 Ma)

• South China collides with N China
• Formation of the super-continent - Pangea
• Slithers of continent formed (microcontinents) from volcanism south of Pangea
• Collide with China - continuous collisions in the late Mesozoic

Late Cretaceous (94 Ma)

• Continent breaks up
• India dissociates from Africa and drifts northwards (extremely fast rate…