Monsoon as a cause of radiolarite in the Tethyan realm

Abstract

The radiolaritic facies (red/green cherts with radiolarians) is a very characteristic feature of the Tethyan realm. For a long time, its presence has been interpreted as a consequence of depth of an oceanic environment. It is now preferable to consider it as high productivity sediment. We here underline the interpretation inferring the role of monsoons for such productivity according to the relative position of lands at that time.