Middle to late Miocene surface water history in the northern South China Sea (SCS): Relationship to the East Asian Monsoon (EAM) evolution and variability

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The proposed study intends to investigate the evolution and variability of the East Asian Monsoon (EAM) for the middle to late Miocene (-15 Ma to 6 Ma), a period of drastic reorganization of global climate. To this end, sediment samples of Ocean Drilling Program (OOP) Leg 184 (Site 1146, 19°27.40 N, 116 16.37 E; water depth of 2092 m; northern South China Sea, SCS) will be analysed for planktonic foraminiferal Mg/Ca ratios (temperature proxy) and stabile oxygen isotopes (proxy of temperature, salinity, and global ice-volume). This integrated approach is a promising method to investigate the thermal and Hydrographie history of the northern SCS surface waters in order to understand the evolution and variability of the EAM during the middle to late Miocene. The objectives of this study are (a) to test hypotheses about the middle to late Miocene intensification of the East Asian summer monsoon, (b) to provide more detailed marine evidence for the evolution and variability of the EAM, and (c) to document the response of the northern SCS surface waters to the Neogene global cooling.