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What was Molnar and England’s point?
In this article Molnar and England are aiming at providing an alternative solution of the theory that late Cenozoic uplift due to tectonic movements and other physical mechanisms was the reason of the global climatic change which led to the cooling of the Earth’s atmosphere. A proposition regarding the global cooling leading to uplifts is given in this article. They start off with a statement of supporting the very argument they are contradicting. Rise in elevation can lead to decrease in temperature and longer winters causing glaciations. It has been supported by circulation models of North America and Central Asia. Transporting of chemically eroded high altitude rocks in colder areas to warmer areas can also cause CO2 absorption leading to reduction in green house effect. The rate of reduction in temperature over time has varied. Peak reductions in time periods are observed during the time when glaciations in the North Hemisphere began. The reason for this may be inferred as uplift due to isostasy or due to tectonic movement. The rapid erosion of crustal earth on top of heavier mantle may have caused the uplift or overlaying tectonic movements may have cause it, leading to rise in elevation. This suggests stormy weather which may have caused the chemical erosion. The use of data to infer the uplift brings into question the theory of whether climate change is the cause of uplift or uplift is the cause of global cooling. Using Geomorphology, sedimentation and paleobotany, the authors have tried to reach a conclusion. Using Geomorphology, they state that “uplift of a surface with respect to base level of streams provides the streams with increased potential energy”, causing incision/erosion of the surface. This may be a primary cause of the uplift due to isostasy. The presence of stream was due to reduced temperatures. The presence of and absence of eroded material in places may have lead to the uplift. As late Cenozoic era sedimentation deposits were discovered surrounding most steep mountain ranges, it may be concluded that the presence and absence of sedimentation in areas decided the uplift of the crust. Heavy boulders were also displaced which can only be done with torrential rain. A large late Cenozoic uplift was calculated in the Gulf of Mexico using erosion and mean surface values. The kind of plants of the era indicates the weather. The fossil pollen of the plants can be used to determine the climate o that time as the plants may have evolved to survive the climate. Moreover, the plants are named according to their parts and not their physiology. It may be so that the plant’s leaves may have changed shaped over the period of the time. This may lead to wrongful prediction of the rise of land to create terraces as observed by Wolfe. He deduced from leaf shapes an abrupt decrease in temperature of several degrees in a couple of million years during the Eocene/Oligocene boundary era. In conclusion, after having stated all the arguments for their paper, they propose that the decrease in climate i.e. global cooling resulted in uplift, contrary to the earlier theories of tectonic movements causing uplifts which led to the drop in temperature. However, they state that it may be so as in the cases of the terrains in Asia. They are not completely refuting the past theories, but proposing another possibility which may be applicable in some cases.

Works Cited

Molnar, Peter and Phillip England. "Late Cenozoic uplift of mountain ranges and global climate change: chicken or egg?" Nature 5 July 1990: 29-34.