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Early holocene monsoonal fluctuations in the Garhwal higher Himalaya as inferred from multi-proxy data from the Malari paleolake

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Pradeep Srivastava*
Affiliation:
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33 GMS Road, Dehradun 248001, India
Anil Kumar
Affiliation:
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33 GMS Road, Dehradun 248001, India
Akanksha Mishra
Affiliation:
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
Narendra K. Meena
Affiliation:
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33 GMS Road, Dehradun 248001, India
Jayant K. Tripathi
Affiliation:
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
Y.P. Sundriyal
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar 246174, India
Rajesh Agnihotri
Affiliation:
National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi 110012, India
Anil K. Gupta
Affiliation:
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33 GMS Road, Dehradun 248001, India
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail address:[email protected] (P. Srivastava).

Abstract

A 4.9-m-thick lake sequence, formed due to the landslide damming of a stream in the semiarid Garhwal Himalaya, was studied to understand past monsoonal variations in the region. The Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) chronology indicates that the lake existed between ~ 12 and ~ 7 ka ago. Chronologically constrained trends of sand percent, organic phosphorus (OP), apatite inorganic phosphorus (AIP) and parameters of environmental magnetism were measured in the paleolake profile. Measured proxies indicate that the Indian summer monsoon ameliorated in the early Holocene after 12 ka cooling, and it appears that all the proxies from the lake have captured this globally recognized early Holocene warming. Four phases of wet conditions (intensified monsoon) are recognized at ~ 11.5 ka, ~ 11–10.5 ka, ~ 10–9 ka and ~ 8–7 ka with maximum uncertainties of ~ 1000 years. The wet phases are characterized by high magnetic susceptibility, increased OP and reduced AIP. In an attempt to understand the primary forcing of the sharp fluctuations in monsoonal activity in the region, we show that changes in magnetic susceptibility match variations of residual atmospheric δ14C, suggesting a role for solar variability as an explanation of climatic variability.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
University of Washington

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