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Mud and Monsoons

March 16, 2014

Marine geologists Takuya Sagawa, left, of Kyushu University, and WHOI’s Liviu Goisan examine sediments cores extracted from the seafloor on an expedition in the Sea of Japan and East Sea in fall 2013. The sediments, laid down over millions of years, hold clues to the evolution of the East Asian Monsoon. The monsoons strengthened as a result of the uplift of the Himalayan Mountains and Tibetan Plateau, which were formed when the Indian subcontinent collided with the Eurasian tectonic plate. The scientists are examining layers of volcanic ash and dark-colored organic-rich sediments called sapropels, which provide evidence of the timing and intensity of geological events.(Photo by Johanna Lofi, University of Montpellier)