TY - JOUR A1 - Mishra, Praveen Kumar A1 - Prasad, Sushma A1 - Anoop, A. A1 - Plessen, Birgit A1 - Jehangir, Arshid A1 - Gaye, Birgit A1 - Menzel, Philip A1 - Weise, Stephan M. A1 - Yousuf, Abdul R. T1 - Carbonate isotopes from high altitude Tso Moriri Lake (NW Himalayas) provide clues to late glacial and Holocene moisture source and atmospheric circulation changes JF - Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology : an international journal for the geo-sciences N2 - High resolution isotopic (delta O-18 and delta C-13) investigations on endogenic carbonates (calcite/aragonite) from Tso Moriri Lake, NW Himalaya show dramatic fluctuations during the late glacial and the early Holocene, and a persistent enrichment trend during the late Holocene. Changes in this lake are largely governed by the [input (meltwater + monsoon precipitation)/evaporationj (WE) ratio, also reflected in changes in the carbonate mineralogy with aragonite being formed during periods of lowest I/E. Using new isotopic data on endogenic carbonates in combination with the available data on geochemistry, mineralogy, and reconstructed mean annual precipitation, we demonstrate that the late glacial and early Holocene carbonate delta O-18 variability resulted from fluctuating Indian summer monsoon (ISM) precipitation in NW Himalaya. This region experienced increasing ISM precipitation between ca. 13.1 and 11.7 cal ka and highest ISM precipitation during the early Holocene (11.2-8.5 cal ka). However, during the late Holocene, evaporation was the dominant control on the carbonate delta O-18. Regional comparison of reconstructed hydrological changes from Tso Moriri Lake with other archives from the Asian summer monsoon and westerlies domain shows that the intensified westerly influence that resulted in higher lake levels (after 8 cal ka) in central Asia was not strongly felt in NW Himalaya. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Carbonates KW - Holocene KW - Indian summer monsoon KW - Isotopes KW - Tso Moriri Lake Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.02.031 SN - 0031-0182 SN - 1872-616X VL - 425 SP - 76 EP - 83 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Riedel, Nils A1 - Stebich, Martina A1 - Anoop, Ambili A1 - Basavaiah, Nathani A1 - Menzel, Philip A1 - Prasad, Sushma A1 - Sachse, Dirk A1 - Sarkar, Saswati A1 - Wiesner, Martin T1 - Modern pollen vegetation relationships in a dry deciduous monsoon forest: A case study from Lonar Crater Lake, central India JF - Quaternary international : the journal of the International Union for Quaternary Research N2 - As part of ongoing research on Holocene lacustrine sediments of Lonar Crater Lake (central India), pollen assemblages in lake surface sediment and soil samples were studied to unravel pollenevegetation relationships, including pollen transport processes in tropical dry deciduous forest vegetation. Furthermore, palynological results were compared with geochemical proxies and spatial features of the lake sediments and the vegetation. The obtained data reveal strong differences in pollen assemblages and pollen concentrations between and within the studied trapping media. Local arboreal vegetation is adequately represented in the soil samples, but is less represented in the lake surface sediment samples. The composition of the lacustrine pollen assemblages is mainly influenced by patterns of transport through surface and channel runoff. Besides the relevance of our new data for reliable interpretation of fossil pollen spectra extracted from Lonar sediment cores, the results of this study are of general importance for the understanding of Quaternary pollen assemblages from tropical lacustrine archives, as well as for the implementation and selection of suitable approaches for quantitative pollen based environmental reconstructions in south Asia and beyond. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. KW - Tropical dry deciduous forests KW - Modern pollen/vegetation relationships KW - Lonar Lake KW - Central India Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.01.046 SN - 1040-6182 SN - 1873-4553 VL - 371 SP - 268 EP - 279 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mishra, Praveen Kumar A1 - Anoop, Ambili A1 - Schettler, Georg A1 - Prasad, Sushma A1 - Jehangir, Arshid A1 - Menzel, Peter A1 - Naumann, Rudolf A1 - Yousuf, A. R. A1 - Basavaiah, Nathani A1 - Deenadayalan, Kannan A1 - Wiesner, Martin G. A1 - Gaye, Birgit T1 - Reconstructed late Quaternary hydrological changes from Lake Tso Moriri, NW Himalaya JF - Quaternary international : the journal of the International Union for Quaternary Research N2 - We present the results of our investigations on the radiocarbon dated core sediments from the Lake Tso Moriri, NW Himalaya aimed at reconstructing palaeohydrological changes in this climatically sensitive region. Based on the detailed geochemical, mineralogical and sedimentological analysis, we recognise several short-term fluctuations superimposed upon seven major palaeohydrological stages identified in this lake since similar to 26 cal ka. Stage I (>20.2 cal ka): shallow lake characterised by input of coarse-grained detrital sediments; Stage II (20.2-16.4 cal ka): lake deepening and intensification of this trend ca. 18 cal ka; Stage III (16.4-11.2 cal ka): rising lake levels with a short term wet phase (13.1-11.7 cal ka); Stage IV (11.2-8.5 cal ka): early Holocene hydrological maxima and highest lake levels inferred to have resulted from early Holocene Indian monsoon intensification, as records from central Asia indicate weaker westerlies during this interval; Stage V (8.5-5.5 cal ka): mid-Holocene climate deterioration; Stage VI (5.5-2.7 cal ka): progressive lowering of lake level; Stage VII (2.7-0 cal ka): onset of modern conditions. The reconstructed hydrological variability in Lake Tso Moriri is governed by temperature changes (meltwater inflow) and monsoon precipitation (increased runoff). A regional comparison shows considerable differences with other palaeorecords from peninsular India during late Holocene. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. KW - Authigenic carbonates KW - Holocene KW - Indian summer monsoon KW - Lake sediments KW - Tso Moriri Lake KW - Westerlies Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.040 SN - 1040-6182 SN - 1873-4553 VL - 371 SP - 76 EP - 86 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Menzel, Philip A1 - Anupama, Krishnamurthy A1 - Basavaiah, Nathani A1 - Das, Brijraj Krishna A1 - Gaye, Birgit A1 - Herrmann, Nicole A1 - Prasad, Sushma T1 - The use of amino acid analyses in (palaeo-) limnological investigations: A comparative study of four Indian lakes in different climate regimes JF - Geochimica et cosmochimica acta : journal of the Geochemical Society and the Meteoritical Society N2 - In the present study, we report the results of comprehensive amino acid (AA) analyses of four Indian lakes from different climate regimes. We focus on the investigation of sediment cores retrieved from the lakes but data of modern sediment as well as vascular plant, soil, and suspended particulate matter samples from individual lakes are also presented. Commonly used degradation and organic matter source indices are tested for their applicability to the lake sediments, and we discuss potential reasons for possible limitations. A principal component analysis including the monomeric AA composition of organic matter of all analysed samples indicates that differences in organic matter sources and the environmental properties of the individual lakes are responsible for the major variability in monomeric AA distribution of the different samples. However, the PCA also gives a factor that most probably separates the samples according to their state of organic matter degradation. Using the factor loadings of the individual AA monomers, we calculate a lake sediment degradation index (LI) that might be applicable to other palaeo-lake investigations. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2015.03.028 SN - 0016-7037 SN - 1872-9533 VL - 160 SP - 25 EP - 37 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sarkar, Saswati A1 - Prasad, Sushma A1 - Wilkes, Heinz A1 - Riedel, Nils A1 - Stebich, Martina A1 - Basavaiah, Nathani A1 - Sachse, Dirk T1 - Monsoon source shifts during the drying mid-Holocene: Biomarker isotope based evidence from the core 'monsoon zone' (CMZ) of India JF - Quaternary science reviews : the international multidisciplinary research and review journal N2 - A better understanding of past variations of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM), that plays a vital role for the still largely agro-based economy in India, can lead to a better assessment of its potential impact under global climate change scenarios. However, our knowledge of spatiotemporal patterns of ISM strength is limited due to the lack of high-resolution, continental paleohydrological records. Here, we reconstruct centennial-scale hydrological variability during the Holocene associated to changes in the intensity of the ISM based on a record of lipid biomarker abundances and compound-specific stable isotopic composition of a 10 m long sediment core from saline alkaline Lonar Lake, situated in the core 'monsoon zone' of central India. We identified three main periods of distinct hydrology during the Holocene in central India. The period between 10.1 and 6 cal ka BP was likely the wettest during the Holocene. Lower average chain length (ACL) index values (29.4-28.6) and negative delta C-13(wax) values (-34.8 parts per thousand to -27.8 parts per thousand) of leaf wax n-alkanes indicate the dominance of woody C-3 vegetation in the catchment, and negative delta D-wax values (concentration weighted average) (-171 parts per thousand to -147 parts per thousand) suggest a wet period due to an intensified monsoon. After 6 cal ka BP, a gradual shift to less negative delta C-13(wax) values (particularly for the grass derived n-C-31) and appearance of the triterpene lipid tetrahymanol, generally considered as a marker for salinity and water column stratification, mark the onset of drier conditions. At 5.1 cal ka BP an increasing flux of leaf wax n-alkanes along with the highest flux of tetrahymanol indicate a major lowering of the lake level. Between 4.8 and 4 cal ka BP, we find evidence for a transition to arid conditions, indicated by high and strongly variable tetrahymanol flux. In addition, a pronounced shift to less negative delta C-13(wax) values, in particular for n-C-31 (-25.2 parts per thousand to -22.8 parts per thousand), during this period indicates a change of dominant vegetation to C-4 grasses. In agreement with other proxy data, such as deposition of evaporite minerals, we interpret this period to reflect the driest conditions in the region during the last 10.1 ka. This transition led to protracted late Holocene arid conditions after 4 ka with the presence of a permanent saline lake, supported by the sustained presence of tetrahymanol and more positive average delta D-wax values (-122 parts per thousand to -141 parts per thousand). A late Holocene peak of cyanobacterial biomarker input at 1.3 cal ka BP might represent an event of lake eutrophication, possibly due to human impact and the onset of cattle/livestock farming in the catchment. A unique feature of our record is the presence of a distinct transitional period between 4.8 and 4 cal ka BP, which was characterized by some of the most negative delta D-wax values during the Holocene (up to -180 parts per thousand), when all other proxy data indicate the driest conditions during the Holocene. These negative delta D-wax values can as such most reasonably be explained by a shift in moisture source area and/or pathways or rainfall seasonality during this transitional period. We hypothesize that orbital induced weakening of the summer solar insolation and associated reorganization of the general atmospheric circulation, as a possible southward displacement of the tropical rainbelt, led to an unstable hydroclimate in central India between 4.8 and 4 ka. KW - Indian Summer Monsoon KW - Holocene KW - Lonar Lake KW - Lipid biomarkers KW - Compound-specific stable isotopic KW - composition Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.06.020 SN - 0277-3791 VL - 123 SP - 144 EP - 157 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER -