Global Cooling Driving the Increase in Erosion Rates Across the Himalaya Since the Quaternary

Late Cenozoic global cooling is well documented, yet its impact on erosion rates in active mountain belts, particularly after the onset of Quaternary glaciation, remain contentious. This ambiguity partially stems from the potential methodological biases in erosion rate quantification, particularly in the Himalaya, where recent studies report no significant increase. To address this, we integrate optically stimulated luminescence and cosmogenic nuclide dating, trace‐elements geochemistry and apatite fission‐track dating of well‐preserved terrace sediments from the eastern Himalaya with thermal kinematic modeling, reconstructing hinterland erosion rates over time. Our results reveal a marked acceleration in erosion rates beginning ∼2 Ma, synchronous with global cooling and enhanced glacial cyclicity. This supports the paradigm that climate cooling drives heightened erosion in orogenic systems, countering hypotheses proposing climate induced stabilization or suppression of erosion. By bridging methodological gaps, our work offers a refined framework for assessing Quaternary climate erosion feedbacks in mountain belts.