TY - JOUR A1 - Sarkar, Saswati A1 - Wilkes, Heinz A1 - Prasad, Sushma A1 - Brauer, Achim A1 - Riedel, Nils A1 - Stebich, Martina A1 - Basavaiah, Nathani A1 - Sachse, Dirk T1 - Spatial heterogeneity in lipid biomarker distributions in the catchment and sediments of a crater lake in central India JF - Organic geochemistry : the international journal for rapid publication of current research in organic geochemistry and biochemistry N2 - The basin-scale spatial variability in lipid biomarker proxies in lacustrine sediments, which are established tools for studying continental environmental change, has rarely been examined. It is often implicitly assumed that a lake sediment core provides an average integral of catchment sources. Here we evaluated the distribution of lipid biomarkers in a modern ecosystem and compared it with the sedimentary record. We analyzed lipid biomarkers in terrestrial and aquatic organisms and in lake surface sediments from 17 locations within the saline-alkaline Lonar crater lake in central India. Terrestrial vegetation and lake surface sediments were characterized by relatively high average chain length (ACL) index values (29.6-32.8) of leaf wax n-alkanes, consistent with suggestions that plants in drier and warmer climates produce longer chain alkyl lipids than plants in cooler and humid areas. A heterogeneous spatial distribution of ACL values in lake surface sediments was found: at locations away from the shore, the values were highest (31 or more), possibly indicating different sources and/or transport of terrestrial biomarkers. In floating, benthic microbial mats and surface sediment, n-heptadecane, carotenoids, diploptene, phytol and tetrahymanol occurred in large amounts. Interestingly, these biomarkers of a unique bacterial community were found in substantially higher concentrations in nearshore sediment samples. We suggest that human influence and subsequent nutrient supply resulted in increased primary productivity, leading to an unusually high concentration of tetrahymanol in the nearshore sediments. In summary, the data showed that substantial heterogeneity existed within the lake, but leaf wax n-alkanes in a core from the center of the lake represented an integral of catchment conditions. However, lake level fluctuation may potentially affect aquatic lipid biomarker distributions in lacustrine sediments, in addition to source changes. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2013.11.009 SN - 0146-6380 VL - 66 SP - 125 EP - 136 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 - TY - THES A1 - Sarkar, Saswati T1 - Holocene variations in the strength of the Indian Monsoon system T1 - Holozäne Schwankungen in der Stärke des Indischen Monsunsystems BT - a combined biomarker and stable isotope approach BT - ein kombinierter Ansatz mit Biomarkern und stabilen Isotopen N2 - The monsoon is an important component of the Earth’s climate system. It played a vital role in the development and sustenance of the largely agro-based economy in India. A better understanding of past variations in the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) is necessary to assess its nature under global warming scenarios. Instead, our knowledge of spatiotemporal patterns of past ISM strength, as inferred from proxy records, is limited due to the lack of high-resolution paleo-hydrological records from the core monsoon domain. In this thesis I aim to improve our understanding of Holocene ISM variability from the core ‘monsoon zone’ (CMZ) in India. To achieve this goal, I tried to understand modern and thereafter reconstruct Holocene monsoonal hydrology, by studying surface sediments and a high-resolution sedimentary record from the saline-alkaline Lonar crater lake, central India. My approach relies on analyzing stable carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios from sedimentary lipid biomarkers to track past hydrological changes. In order to evaluate the relationship of the modern ecosystem and hydrology of the lake I studied the distribution of lipid biomarkers in the modern ecosystem and compared it to lake surface sediments. The major plants from dry deciduous mixed forest type produced a greater amount of leaf wax n-alkanes and a greater fraction of n-C31 and n-C33 alkanes relative to n-C27 and n-C29. Relatively high average chain length (ACL) values (29.6–32.8) for these plants seem common for vegetation from an arid and warm climate. Additionally I found that human influence and subsequent nutrient supply result in increased lake primary productivity, leading to an unusually high concentration of tetrahymanol, a biomarker for salinity and water column stratification, in the nearshore sediments. Due to this inhomogeneous deposition of tetrahymanol in modern sediments, I hypothesize that lake level fluctuation may potentially affect aquatic lipid biomarker distributions in lacustrine sediments, in addition to source changes. I reconstructed centennial-scale hydrological variability associated with changes in the intensity of the ISM based on a record of leaf wax and aquatic biomarkers and their stable carbon (δ13C) and hydrogen (δD) isotopic composition from a 10 m long sediment core from the lake. I identified three main periods of distinct hydrology over the Holocene in central India. The period between 10.1 and 6 cal. ka BP was likely the wettest during the Holocene. Lower ACL index values (29.4 to 28.6) of leaf wax n-alkanes and their negative δ13C values (–34.8‰ to –27.8‰) indicated the dominance of woody C3 vegetation in the catchment, and negative δDwax (average for leaf wax n-alkanes) values (–171‰ to –147‰) argue for a wet period due to an intensified monsoon. After 6 cal. ka BP, a gradual shift to less negative δ13C values (particularly for the grass derived n-C31) and appearance of the triterpene lipid tetrahymanol, generally considered as a marker for salinity and water column stratification, marked the onset of drier conditions. At 5.1 cal. ka BP increasing flux of leaf wax n-alkanes along with the highest flux of tetrahymanol indicated proximity of the lakeshore to the center due to a major lake level decrease. Rapid fluctuations in abundance of both terrestrial and aquatic biomarkers between 4.8 and 4 cal. ka BP indicated an unstable lake ecosystem, culminating in a transition to arid conditions. A pronounced shift to less negative δ13C values, in particular for n-C31 (–25.2‰ to –22.8‰), over this period indicated a change of dominant vegetation to C4 grasses. Along with a 40‰ increase in leaf wax n-alkane δD values, which likely resulted from less rainfall and/or higher plant evapotranspiration, I 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 and the establishment of a permanently saline lake. This is supported by the high abundance of tetrahymanol. 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. The most intriguing feature of the mid-Holocene driest period was the high amplitude and rapid fluctuations in δDwax values, probably due to a change in the moisture source and/or precipitation seasonality. I hypothesize that orbital induced weakening of the summer solar insolation and associated reorganization of the general atmospheric circulation were responsible for an unstable hydroclimate in the mid-Holocene in the CMZ. My findings shed light onto the sequence of changes during mean state changes of the monsoonal system, once an insolation driven threshold has been passed, and show that small changes in solar insolation can be associated to major environmental changes and large fluctuations in moisture source, a scenario that may be relevant with respect to future changes in the ISM system. N2 - Der Monsun ist ein wichtiger Bestandteil des Klimasystems der Erde. Er spielte in der Entwicklung und im Lebensunterhalt der weitgehend agrarisch geprägten Wirtschaft in Indien eine wesentliche Rolle. Ein besseres Verständnis von vergangenen Schwankungen im Indischen Sommermonsun (ISM) ist notwendig, um dessen Wesen unter dem Einfluss globaler Erwärmungsszenarien zu bewerten. Stattdessen ist unser Wissen über räumlich-zeitliche Muster der vergangenen ISM Intensität, wie sie aus Proxydaten abgeleitet wird, aufgrund des Mangels an hochauflösenden paläohydrologischen Datensätzen aus der Kernmonsunregion sehr eingeschränkt. In dieser Arbeit versuche ich unser Verständnis über die ISM Variabilität im Holozän in der Kernmonsunregion in Indien zu verbessern. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen habe ich versucht, zunächst die rezente und danach die holozäne monsunale Hydrologie durch das Studium von Oberflächensedimenten und eines hochaufgelösten Sedimentkerns aus dem salzhaltigen-alkalischen Lonar Kratersee, Zentralindien zu verstehen. Mein Ansatz stützt sich auf der Analyse stabiler Wasserstoff- und Kohlenstoffisotopenverhältnisse von sedimentären Lipid Biomarkern, um vergangene hydrologische Veränderungen zu verfolgen. Um die Beziehung des modernen Ökosystems mit der Hydrologie des Sees zu bewerten, untersuchte ich die Verteilung von Lipid Biomarkern im rezenten Ökosystem und verglich sie mit den Oberflächensedimenten des Sees. Die bedeutendsten Pflanzen aus dem trockenen Laubmischwaldtyp erzeugten eine größere Menge an Blattwachs n-Alkanen und einen größeren Anteil von n-C31 und n-C33 Alkanen im Verhältnis zu n-C27 und n-C29. Die relativ hohen durchschnittlichen Werte der Kettenlängen (29.6–32.8) für diese Pflanzen scheinen für die Vegetation in einem ariden und warmen Klima weit verbreitet zu sein. Zusätzlich fand ich heraus, dass der menschliche Einfluss und eine nachfolgende Nährstoffzufuhr zu einer Erhöhung der Primärproduktion im See führen, die in einer ungewöhnlich hohen Konzentration von Tetrahymanol, einem Biomarker für Salzgehalt und Schichtung der Wassersäule, in den Sedimenten des Uferbereichs resultiert. Aufgrund dieser inhomogenen Ablagerung von Tetrahymanol in rezenten Sedimenten vermute ich, dass Seespiegelschwankungen möglicherweise aquatische Lipid Biomarker Verteilungen in limnischen Sedimenten, zusätzlich zu Änderungen in deren Herkunft, potentiell beeinflussen. Ich habe die hundertjährig-lange hydrologische Variabilität, die mit Veränderungen in der Intensität des ISM verbunden ist, auf der Basis von Blattwachs Lipid Biomarkern und ihrer stabilen Kohlenstoff- (δ13C) und Wasserstoffisotopenzusammensetzung (δD) ausgehend von einem 10 m langen Sedimentkern aus dem See rekonstruiert. Ich habe drei Hauptphasen von signifikanter Hydrologie im Holozän in Zentralindien identifiziert. Die Periode zwischen 10.1 und 6 cal. ka BP war wahrscheinlich die feuchteste während des Holozäns. Geringere durchschnittliche Kettenlängen Indexwerte (29.4 bis 28.6) von Blattwachs n-Alkanen und ihre negativen δ13C Werte (–34.8‰ bis –27.8‰) wiesen auf die Dominanz von holziger C3 Vegetation im Einzugsgebiet hin, und negative δDwax (Durchschnitt für Blattwachs n-Alkane) Werte (–171‰ bis –147‰) stehen für eine feuchte Periode in Verbindung mit einem verstärkten Monsun. Nach 6 cal. ka BP führte eine allmähliche Verschiebung zu weniger negativen δ13C Werten (insbesondere für Gras abgeleitete n-C31) und das Vorkommen von Triterpen Lipid Tetrahymanol, allgemein als Indikator für Salzgehalt und Wassersäulenstratifizierung verwendet, zum Beginn von trockeneren Bedingungen. Um 5.1 cal. ka BP deutete ein erhöhter Fluss von Blattwachs n-Alkanen in Zusammenhang mit dem höchsten Fluss von Tetrahymanol auf eine bedeutende Absenkung des Seeufers durch den Rückgang im Seespiegel. Rasche Schwankungen in der Menge von terrestrischen und aquatischen Biomarkern zwischen 4.8 und 4 cal. ka BP wiesen auf ein instabiles Seeökosystem hin, das in einem Übergang zu ariden Bedingungen kulminiert. Eine bedeutende Verschiebung zu weniger negativen δ13C Werten in dieser Periode, insbesondere für n-C31 (–25.2‰ bis –22.8‰), zeigte einen Wandel in der dominanten Vegetation hin zu C4 Gräsern. Zusammen mit einem 40‰ Anstieg in den δD Werten der Blattwachs n-Alkane, der wahrscheinlich von weniger Niederschlag und/oder höherer Evapotranspiration der Pflanzen ausgelöst wurde, interpretiere ich diese Periode als die trockenste der letzten 10.1 ka. Dieser Übergang führte zu lang anhaltenden spätholozänen ariden Bedingungen und zur Ausbildung eines dauerhaften salzhaltigen Sees. Dies wird durch ein hohes Vorkommen von Tetrahymanol unterstützt. Ein spätholozäner Höchstwert in der Zufuhr blaualgenhaltiger Biomarker um 1.3 cal. ka BP könnte ein Ereignis der Eutrophierung des Sees darstellen, wahrscheinlich in Verbindung mit dem menschlichen Einfluss und dem Beginn der Rinder- und Viehzucht im Einzugsgebiet. Die faszinierendsten Merkmale der trockensten Periode im mittleren Holozän waren die hohe Amplitude und rasche Fluktuationen in den δDwax Werten, wahrscheinlich in Verbindung mit einer Veränderung in der Herkunft der Feuchtigkeit und/oder Saisonalität im Niederschlag. Ich vermute, dass eine orbital induzierte Abschwächung der sommerlichen Solarstrahlung und eine damit verbundene Umstellung der allgemeinen atmosphärischen Zirkulation für ein instabiles Hydroklima im mittleren Holozän in der Kernmonsunregion verantwortlich waren. Meine Ergebnisse liefern den Aufschluss über die Abfolge von Veränderungen während der mittleren Zustandsänderungen des Monsunsystems, sobald ein einstrahlungsgetriebener Schwellenwert überschritten ist, und sie zeigen, dass kleine Änderungen in der solaren Einstrahlung mit markanten Umweltveränderungen und großen Schwankungen in der Herkunft der Feuchtigkeit einhergehen, ein Szenario, das in Bezug zu zukünftigen Veränderungen des ISM Systems relevant sein könnte. KW - Indian Monsoon KW - indischer Monsun KW - holocene KW - Holozän Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-74905 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 - 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 -