Tibetan Plateau Made Central Asian Drylands Move Northward, Concentrate in Narrow Latitudinal Bands, and Increase in Intensity During the Cenozoic

The evolution of central Asian drylands during the Cenozoic is a hot topic in paleoclimate research, but underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we investigate this with climate modeling based on six key geological periods. Our results indicate that have existed since early Eocene, after which they move northward and become narrower. Although changed land-sea distribution decreased atmospheric CO2 concentration promote aridification drylands, only slightly affect latitudinal position drylands. By comparison, growth high-topography areas, especially Tibetan Plateau (TP), makes northward, concentrate narrow bands, increase intensity. Good model-data qualitative agreement obtained for stepwise midlatitude inland Asia north ∼40°N, uplifted main northern TP by Miocene likely forced to form region.