The main aim is to assess the extent and timing of late Quaternary glaciation in Asia (Siberia and the Himalayas) and the impact that this has had on the continent’s hydrological system. Because of the importance of continental freshwaters on ocean circulation and, in turn, on global climate, it is critical to know how Asia's north-flowing rivers were influenced by ice sheets. If, as in North America, the northward-draining river systems to the Arctic Ocean had been dammed by ice sheets, Asia's runoff would have been forced to seek new routes southwards through the Aral, Caspian, Black and Mediterranean Seas. Thus, much of the continent's freshwater system would have flowed into the central Atlantic Ocean, rather than into the Arctic Ocean as it is today.