TY - JOUR A1 - Mishra, Praveen Kumar A1 - Prasad, Sushma A1 - Marwan, Norbert A1 - Anoop, A. A1 - Krishnan, R. A1 - Gaye, Birgit A1 - Basavaiah, N. A1 - Stebich, Martina A1 - Menzel, Philip A1 - Riedel, Nils T1 - Contrasting pattern of hydrological changes during the past two millennia from central and northern India BT - regional climate difference or anthropogenic impact? JF - Global and planetary change N2 - High resolution reconstructions of the India Summer Monsoon (ISM) are essential to identify regionally different patterns of climate change and refine predictive models. We find opposing trends of hydrological proxies between northern (Sahiya cave stalagmite) and central India (Lonar Lake) between 100 and 1300 CE with the strongest anti-correlation between 810 and 1300 CE. The apparently contradictory data raise the question if these are related to widely different regional precipitation patterns or reflect human influence in/around the Lonar Lake. By comparing multiproxy data with historical records, we demonstrate that only the organic proxies in the Lonar Lake show evidence of anthropogenic impact. However, evaporite data (mineralogy and delta O-18) are indicative of precipitation/evaporation (P/E) into the Lonar Lake. Back-trajectories of air-mass circulation over northern and central India show that the relative contribution of the Bay of Bengal (BoB) branch of the ISM is crucial for determining the delta O-18 of carbonate proxies only in north India, whereas central India is affected significantly by the Arabian Sea (AS) branch of the ISM. We conclude that the delta O-18 of evaporative carbonates in the Lonar Lake reflects P/E and, in the interval under consideration, is not influenced by source water changes. The opposing trend between central and northern India can be explained by (i) persistent multidecadal droughts over central India between 810 and 1300 CE that provided an effective mechanism for strengthening sub-tropical westerly winds resulting in enhancement of wintertime (non-monsoonal) rainfall over northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, and/or (ii) increased moisture influx to northern India from the depleted BoB source waters. KW - ENSO KW - Isotopes KW - Indian summer monsoon KW - Lonar Lake KW - Stalagmites KW - Westerlies Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2017.12.005 SN - 0921-8181 SN - 1872-6364 VL - 161 SP - 97 EP - 107 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - 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 - Anoop, A. A1 - Prasad, S. A1 - Basavaiah, Nathani A1 - Brauer, Achim A1 - Shahzad, F. A1 - Deenadayalan, K. T1 - Tectonic versus climate influence on landscape evolution: A case study from the upper Spiti valley, NW Himalaya JF - Geomorphology : an international journal on pure and applied geomorphology N2 - We have undertaken structural, geomorphological, and morphometric analyses to investigate the role of tectonism and climate in the landscape evolution in the upper Spiti valley, NW Himalayas. Geomorphometric analyses coupled with field investigations reveal active tectonic deformation in the Spiti region. The calculated geomorphic indices (steepness, concavity and Hack) demonstrate uplift/subsidence along the Kaurik-Chango fault, whereas transverse topographic index (T-index) reveals basin tilting associated with active faulting near Hansa and Lingti valley. Investigation of well-dated Mane palaeolake sediments also provides evidence of regional tectonic instability. Four episodes (ca. 7.8, 7.4, 6.5 and 6.1 cal ka) of neotectonic activity have been identified during the period of the lake's existence. We have also compiled data on the regional climate variability and compared it with the age of the Mane palaeo-landslide. Our results indicate that the landslide occurred towards the end of the early Holocene intensified monsoon phase and is located near an active fault. Our data on regional tectonic instability and the coincidences of modern and palaeo-landslides with zones of active deformation suggest that tectonism is an important factor governing landscape stability in the Spiti region. KW - Geomorphic indices KW - Holocene KW - Palaeo-lake sediments KW - Palaeo-landslides KW - Monsoon Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2011.10.028 SN - 0169-555X VL - 145 IS - 4 SP - 32 EP - 44 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mishrat, Praveen K. A1 - Anoop, A. A1 - Jehangir, A. A1 - Prasad, Sushma A1 - Menze, R. A1 - Schettler, Georg A1 - Naumann, R. A1 - Weise, S. A1 - Andersen, N. A1 - Yousuf, A. R. A1 - Gaye, Birgit T1 - Limnology and modern sedimentation patterns in high altitude Tso Moriri Lake, NW Himalaya - implications for proxy development JF - Fundamental and applied limnology : official journal of the International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology N2 - We report the results of our investigations on the catchment area, lake surface sediments, and hydrology of the high altitude alpine Tso Moriri Lake, NW Himalayas (India). Our results indicate that the lake is currently alkaline, and thermally stratified with an oxic bottom layer. Results from hydrochemistry and isotopic composition (delta O-18 and delta D) of inflowing streams and lake waters show that Tso Moriri Lake is an evaporative lake with contributions from both westerly source (snow melt) and Indian summer monsoon precipitation. Geochemical and mineralogical investigations on the catchment and lake surface sediments reveal the presence of authigenic aragonite in modern lake sediment. The lithogenic components reflect the inflow and sorting processes during transport into the lake, whereas the authigenic carbonate fraction can be linked to the changes in ([precipitation+meltwater]/evaporation) (I/E) balance within the lake. The spatial variability in grain size distribution within the lake surface sediments shows that the grain size data can be utilised as a proxy for transport energy and shoreline proximity in the lake basin. We have evaluated the applicability of commonly applied environmentally sensitive proxies (isotopes, mineralogy, weathering indices) for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the Tso Moriri Lake. Our results show that the commonly used weathering index (Rb/Sr) is not applicable due to Sr contribution from authigenic carbonates. The useful weathering indices in Tso Moriri Lake are the Si/Al and the Chemical Proxy of Alteration (CPA). Since the carbonates are formed by evaporative processes, their presence and isotopic values can be used as indicators of I/E changes in the lake. KW - geochemistry KW - lake sediments KW - palaeoenvironmental proxies KW - Tso Moriri Lake KW - weathering indices Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/fal/2014/0664 SN - 1863-9135 VL - 185 IS - 3-4 SP - 329 EP - 348 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prasad, Sushma A1 - Anoop, A. A1 - Riedel, N. A1 - Sarkar, Saswati A1 - Menzel, P. A1 - Basavaiah, Nathani A1 - Krishnan, R. A1 - Fuller, D. A1 - Plessen, Birgit A1 - Gaye, B. A1 - Roehl, U. A1 - Wilkes, H. A1 - Sachse, Dirk A1 - Sawant, R. A1 - Wiesner, M. G. A1 - Stebich, M. T1 - Prolonged monsoon droughts and links to Indo-Pacific warm pool: A Holocene record from Lonar Lake, central India JF - Earth & planetary science letters N2 - Concerns about the regional impact of global climate change in a warming scenario have highlighted the gaps in our understanding of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM, also referred to as the Indian Ocean summer monsoon) and the absence of long term palaeoclimate data from the central Indian core monsoon zone (CMZ). Here we present the first high resolution, well-dated, multiproxy reconstruction of Holocene palaeoclimate from a 10 m long sediment core raised from the Lonar Lake in central India. We show that while the early Holocene onset of-intensified monsoon in the CMZ is similar to that reported from other ISM records, the Lonar data shows two prolonged droughts (PD, multidecadal to centennial periods of weaker monsoon) between 4.6-3.9 and 2-0.6 cal ka. A comparison of our record with available data from other ISM influenced sites shows that the impact of these PD was observed in varying degrees throughout the ISM realm and coincides with intervals of higher solar irradiance. We demonstrate that (i) the regional warming in the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) plays an important role in causing ISM PD through changes in meridional overturning circulation and position of the anomalous Walker cell; (ii) the long term influence of conditions like El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the ISM began only ca. 2 cal ka BP and is coincident with the warming of the southern IPWP; (iii) the first settlements in central India coincided with the onset of the first PD and agricultural populations flourished between the two PD, highlighting the significance of natural climate variability and PD as major environmental factors affecting human settlements. KW - Indian summer monsoon KW - ENSO KW - prolonged droughts KW - Holocene KW - Lonar Lake Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.01.043 SN - 0012-821X SN - 1385-013X VL - 391 SP - 171 EP - 182 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -