Our study of late Miocene–early Pleistocene sedimentary records from the Taiwan Western Foreland Basin and the northern South China Sea found that physical erosion of tropical mountain belts by intense monsoon and tropical cyclone precipitation influences carbon burial by: 1) erosion and burial of organic carbon from land, and 2) supplying nutrients that enhance marine photosynthesis. This work links mountain building and erosion in tropical regions directly to carbon storage in nearby oceans.