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Palaeoenvironmental implications of evaporative gaylussite crystals from Lonar Lake, central India
(2013)
We have undertaken petrographic, mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic investigations on carbonate minerals found within a 10-m-long core from Lonar Lake, central India, with the aim of evaluating their potential as palaeoenvironmental proxies. The core encompasses the entire Holocene and is the first well-dated high-resolution record from central India. While calcite and/or aragonite were found throughout the core, the mineral gaylussite was found only in two specific intervals (46303890 and 2040560 cal a BP). Hydrochemical and isotope data from inflowing streams and lake waters indicate that evaporitic processes play a dominant role in the precipitation of carbonates within this lake. Isotopic (18O and 13C) studies on the evaporative gaylussite crystals and residual bulk carbonates (calcite) from the long core show that evaporation is the major control on 18O enrichment in both the minerals. However, in case of 13C additional mechanisms, for example methanogenesis (gaylussite) and phytoplankton productivity (calcium carbonate), play an additional important role in some intervals. We also discuss the relevance of our investigation for palaeoclimate reconstruction and late Holocene monsoon variability.
We present the results of biogeochemical and mineralogical analyses on a sediment core that covers the Holocene sedimentation history of the climatically sensitive, closed, saline, and alkaline Lonar Lake in the core monsoon zone in central India. We compare our results of C/N ratios, stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes, grain-size, as well as amino acid derived degradation proxies with climatically sensitive proxies of other records from South Asia and the North Atlantic region. The comparison reveals some more or less contemporaneous climate shifts. At Lonar Lake, a general long term climate transition from wet conditions during the early Holocene to drier conditions during the late Holocene, delineating the insolation curve, can be reconstructed. In addition to the previously identified periods of prolonged drought during 4.6-3.9 and 2.0-0.6 cal ka that have been attributed to temperature changes in the Indo Pacific Warm Pool, several additional phases of shorter term climate alteration superimposed upon the general climate trend can be identified. These correlate with cold phases in the North Atlantic region. The most pronounced climate deteriorations indicated by our data occurred during 62-5.2,4.6-3.9, and 2.0-0.6 cal ka BP. The strong dry phase between 4.6 and 3.9 cal ka BP at Lonar Lake corroborates the hypothesis that severe climate deterioration contributed to the decline of the Indus Civilisation about 3.9 ka BP. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
We report the results of our investigations on the catchment area, surface sediments, and hydrology of the monsoonal Lonar Lake, central India. Our results indicate that the lake is currently stratified with an anoxic bottom layer, and there is a spatial heterogeneity in the sensitivity of sediment parameters to different environmental processes. In the shallow (0-5 m) near shore oxic-suboxic environments the lithogenic and terrestrial organic content is high and spatially variable, and the organics show degradation in the oxic part. Due to aerial exposure resulting from lake level changes of at least 3m, the evaporitic carbonates are not completely preserved. In the deep water (>5 m) anoxic environment the lithogenics are uniformly distributed and the delta C-13 is an indicator not only for aquatic vs. terrestrial plants but also of lake pH and salinity. The isotopic composition of the evaporites is dependent not only on the isotopic composition of source water (monsoon rainfall and stream inflow) and evaporation, but is also influenced by proximity to the isotopically depleted stream inflow. We conclude that in the deep water environment lithogenic content, and isotopic composition of organic matter can be used for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction.
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.
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.