HoloceneClimateChange andEnvironment
Editedby NavnithKumaran
FormerlyofAgharkarResearchInstitute,India
DamodaranPadmalal
NationalCentreforEarthScienceStudies,India
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CHAPTER1ThepreludetotheHolocene:tropicalAsia duringthePleistocene 1
RobertJ.MorleyandHarsantiP.Morley
1.1 Introduction................................................................................1
1.2 Scope,methodology,anddatasources..................................................1
1.3 PliocenedemiseofIndianwettropicalforests..........................................2
1.4 PleistocenevegetationandclimatechangeacrossIndiaandSoutheastAsia.........3
1.4.1FallingsealevelsandtopographicchangeacrosstropicalAsia...............3
1.4.2Sundanianvegetationduringperiodsoflowsealevel.........................4
1.4.3EarlyPleistoceneandthedispersalof Homoerectus toIndiaandSunda....7
1.4.4SoutheastAsiaandIndiaduringthelastglacial/interglacialcycle...........8
1.4.5Immigrationof Homosapiens ..................................................18
1.4.6TheTobaeruption...............................................................18
CHAPTER2ContemporarydynamicsandHoloceneextentofglaciers
2.1
2.5.1ContemporarydynamicsinglaciersoftheWesternand EasternHimalayas...............................................................35
2.5.2TheHoloceneglacialextentandtiming.......................................48
2.6 Discussion................................................................................53
2.7 Learningandknowledgeoutcomes.....................................................58
CHAPTER3HoloceneclimaticrecordofLadakh,Trans-Himalaya
3.1
BinitaPhartiyal,DebaratiNagandPriyankaJoshi
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
CHAPTER4LateHoloceneadvancementsofdenudationalanddepositional frontsintheHigherHimalaya:AcasestudyfromChandra valley,HimachalPradesh,India
S.J.Sangode,D.C.Meshram,A.M.Kandekara,AmolAbhale, S.S.GudadheandSumanRawat
4.1
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
CHAPTER5Holoceneregional-scalebehavioroftheriversof
5.1 Introduction.............................................................................103
5.2 Scopeofthestudy......................................................................103
5.3 ThePeninsularrivers:fluvialgeomorphologyandhydrology......................106
5.4 ThePleistocenefluvialrecordsinthePeninsularrivervalleys.....................107
5.5 VariabilityinthemonsoonregimeduringtheHolocene............................108
5.6 Observationsanddiscussion...........................................................112
5.6.1Holoceneregional-scaleriverbehaviorofthePeninsularrivers...........112
5.6.2Regional-scaleriverbehavior:EarlyHistoricPeriodto CurrentPeriod(last ∼2.5ka).................................................115
5.7 Holoceneregional-scaleriverbehaviorvis-à-visthemonsoonvariability.........117
5.8 Learningandknowledgeoutcomes...................................................121
CHAPTER6HolocenevegetationandclimatechangefromcentralIndia: Anupdatedandadetailedpollen-basedreview ........................
Md.FirozeQuamar
6.1 Introduction.............................................................................129
6.2 Scope....................................................................................131
6.3 Studyarea,vegetation,andclimate...................................................132
6.4 Resultsanddiscussion:regionalandglobalcontextualization.....................132
6.4.1Early-HolocenetoMid-Holocene(∼11,700–8200calyrBP).............133
6.4.2Mid-HolocenetoLate-Holocene(∼8200–4200calyrBP)................136
6.4.3Late-Holoceneonward(∼4200calyrBP–Present).........................143
6.5
CHAPTER7Holoceneclimateandsea-levelchangesandtheirimpact onecology,vegetationandlandformsinSouthKerala SedimentaryBasin,India .......................................................
7.1
D.Padmalal,RutaB.LimayeandK.P.N.Kumaran
7.2 Scope....................................................................................167
7.3 Materialandmethods..................................................................167
7.3.1Boreholedata...................................................................169
7.3.2Fossilwood/subfossillogs....................................................181
7.4 Fieldworkandsamplingtechniques...................................................182
7.5 Observationsandresults...............................................................183
7.5.1Ernakulamarea.................................................................183
7.5.2TheareaalongtheeastofVembanadlagoon................................185
7.5.3TheareaalongthesouthwestofVembanadlagoon.........................185
7.5.4Thiruvarpu–Kavanar–Kudavechurarea......................................187
7.5.5Kalarkodarea...................................................................187
7.5.6TheareaalongtheeastoftheVembanadlagoon.............................00
7.5.7Southernsand-dominatedarea................................................188
7.6 Discussion...............................................................................189
7.6.1Therelevanceoftectonicsinthestudyofsedimentaryfacies..............189
7.6.2Climatevariabilityandsea-levelchangesandtheirimpacts...............190
7.6.3Holocenedepositsandthesociety............................................192
7.7 Learningandknowledgeoutcomes...................................................192 Acknowledgments......................................................................193
CHAPTER8Readingsource,Holoceneclimatechangeandmonsoon signaturesinsurfaceandcoresedimentsfromwestern BayofBengal 197
GanapatiN.Nayak,PurnimaBejugamandJanhaviKangane
8.1 Introduction.............................................................................197
8.1.1Scopeofthestudy.............................................................201
8.2 Methodology............................................................................201
8.2.1Samplingarea..................................................................201
8.2.2Samplingmethods.............................................................202
8.2.3Laboratoryanalysis............................................................203
8.2.4Dataprocessing................................................................205
8.3 Resultsanddiscussion.................................................................205
8.3.1Surfaceandspade/multicoresediments—sourceandprocesses...........205
8.3.2Gravitycoresediments—sedimentarydepositionalenvironmentsand Holoceneclimate...............................................................216
8.4
CHAPTER9HoloceneenvironmentalmagneticrecordsofIndian monsoonfluctuations ............................................................
N.Basavaiah,J.Seetharamaiah,ErwinAppel,NavinJuyal,SushmaPrasad, K.NageswaraRao,A.S.Khadkikar,N.NowaczykandA.Brauer
9.1 Introduction.............................................................................229
9.2 Scopeofthestudy......................................................................231
9.4.1Himalayanloess-paleosoldeposits...........................................236
9.4.2NalSarovarLakesediments..................................................238
9.4.3Godavarideltamangrovesediments..........................................238
9.4.4Iskapaliilagoonsediments....................................................238
9.5 CompositeS-ratiomapandpaleomonsoonrainfallfluctuations....................238
9.5.1A20kaclimaterecordfromHimalayanloessdeposits....................240
9.5.2HoloceneclimaterecordsinWesternLakeand EasternCoastalsediments.....................................................241
9.5.3LateHoloceneclimaterecordsfromEastCoastmangrovedeposits......242
9.6 Learningandknowledgeoutcomes...................................................242
CHAPTER10Applicationoftreeringsinunderstandinglong-term variabilityinriverdischargeofhighHimalayas,India ............... 247 VikramSingh,KrishnaG.Misra,AkhileshK.YadavaandRamR.Yadav
10.3.1Fieldworkandsamplingtechniques.........................................248
10.3.2Crossdatingofgrowthringsequences........................................248
10.3.3Chronologypreparation.......................................................248
10.3.4ClimaticsettingsalongthecourseofSutlejRiver..........................249
10.3.5Identificationofclimatesignalinring-widthchronologies................251
SantoshK.Shah,NiveditaMehrotra,NarayanP.Gaire,LamginsangThomte, BimalSharma,UttamPandeyandOmKatel
12.5.1ImprintsofBondeventsinmarineandcontinentalarchives...............316
CHAPTER16Applicationofprecipitationisotopesinpursuitofpaleomonsoon reconstruction:AnIndianperspective ..................................... 413
SupriyoChakraborty,AmeyDatye,CharutaMurkute,SubrotaHalder, AnantParekh,NiteshSinhaandP.M.Mohan
16.1 Introduction.............................................................................413
16.2 Scopeofthework......................................................................414
16.3 Methodologyandprocesses...........................................................416
16.3.1Precipitationsamplingandprecipitationdata...............................416
16.3.2Evaporationflux................................................................416
16.3.3Moisturefluxdivergence......................................................416
16.3.4Isotopicanalysisofrainwater.................................................417
16.3.5Analysisofrainfalldata.......................................................417
16.4 Results...................................................................................418
16.5 Discussion...............................................................................419
16.5.1Examinationoftheamounteffectonamonthlyscale......................420
16.5.2EstimationofamounteffectfortheAndamanIslandsregion..............423
16.6 Learningandknowledgeoutcomes...................................................425
CHAPTER17MangroveOstracodaspeciesfluctuations,habitual adaptation,anditsenvironmentalimplications—Areview
S.M.Hussain,MohammedNoohuNazeer,K.Radhakrishnan, A.RajkumarandV.Sivapriya
17.1 Introduction.............................................................................429
17.2 Scopeofthestudy......................................................................429
17.3 ResultsandDiscussion.................................................................430
17.3.1HoloceneOstracoda...........................................................430
17.3.2Ostracodaspeciesfluctuationinmangroveenvironment...................431
17.3.3HabitualadaptationofOstracodafrommangroveenvironment...........432
17.4 Learningandknowledgeoutcomes...................................................433
CHAPTER18LateQuaternarylandscapeevolutionofPeninsularIndia: Areviewbasedonfluvialarchives
M.R.Resmi,HemaAchyuthan,GauravChauhanandHritikaDeopa
18.1 Introduction.............................................................................441
18.2 Scope....................................................................................442
18.3 Methodologyanddatasources........................................................442
18.4 Observationsandresults...............................................................442
18.5 Discussion...............................................................................444
18.5.1WestflowingPeninsularrivers................................................444
18.5.2EastflowingPeninsularrivers................................................446
18.5.3SouthernPeninsularrivers....................................................447
18.6 Learningandknowledgeoutcomes...................................................450
CHAPTER19TheimprintsofHoloceneclimateandenvironmentalchanges intheSouthMahanadiDeltaandtheChilikalagoon,Odisha, India—Anoverview 457
SibaPrasadMishraandKumarChandraSethi
19.1 Introduction.............................................................................457
19.1.1Thegeographicalandgeomorphologicalsettingofthestudyarea........457 19.1.2Previouswork..................................................................459
19.2
19.4 Observationandresults................................................................464
19.4.1Geoenvironmentalsettingofthestudyarea.................................464
19.4.2Holocenetemperaturechanges...............................................464
19.4.3TheChilikalagoonandthesouthMahanadidelta..........................469
19.4.4HydrologyandgeomorphologyofSMD.....................................471
19.5 Discussion...............................................................................475
19.5.1TheHolocenechangesinChilikalagoon....................................475
CHAPTER20Holocenechangesinfluvialgeomorphology,depositional
K.Maya,D.Padmalal,M.Vandana,S.VishnuMohan,V.R.Vivek, RutaB.LimayeandK.P.N.Kumaran
20.5.3Heavymineralogy..............................................................493
20.5.4Palynology......................................................................497
20.5.5Limeshelloccurrences........................................................499
20.5.6Geochronology.................................................................501
20.6 Discussion...............................................................................503
20.7 Learningandknowledgeoutcomes...................................................509 Acknowledgments......................................................................509 References...............................................................................510
CHAPTER21Holoceneevolutionofcoastalwetlands—Acasestudy fromSouthernKerala,India ................................................... 513
S.VishnuMohan,M.S.Aneesh,K.Maya,K.P.N.KumaranandD.Padmalal
21.1 Introduction.............................................................................513
21.2 Scope....................................................................................514 21.3 Studyarea...............................................................................514
21.4 Materialsandmethods.................................................................515
21.5 Fieldworkandsamplingtechniques..................................................515
21.6 Results...................................................................................518
21.6.1Boreholelithologyandsedimenttexture.....................................518
21.6.2Surfacesediments—granulometriccharacteristics..........................518
21.6.3Heavymineralogy..............................................................527
21.6.4SEManalysis...................................................................529
21.6.5Geochemistry...................................................................532
21.7 Discussion...............................................................................534
21.7.1Sedimentaryprocessesanddepositionalenvironments.....................534
21.7.2Sea-levelchangesandcoastalevolution.....................................537
21.8 Learningandknowledgeoutcomes...................................................542 Acknowledgments......................................................................543 References...............................................................................543
CHAPTER22LateQuaternarygeoarcheologyandpalynologicalstudiesof somesalinelakesoftheTharDesert,Rajasthan,India .............. 547
B.C.Deotare,SheilaMishraandS.N.Rajaguru
22.1 Introduction.............................................................................547
22.1.1Vegetation......................................................................547
22.1.2LandformsoftheTharDesert.................................................549
22.2 Scope....................................................................................549
22.3 Observations............................................................................550
22.3.1Salinelakes.....................................................................550
22.3.2Archeologyaroundsalinelakes...............................................559
22.4 Discussion...............................................................................566
22.4.1Lakes............................................................................566
22.4.2Human–environmentrelationship............................................567
22.5 Learningandknowledgeoutcomes...................................................570 Acknowledgments......................................................................570 References...............................................................................571
CHAPTER23LateQuaternarygeoarchaeologicalandpalaeoenvironmental
RaviKorisettar
23.1 Introduction.............................................................................575
23.2 Scope....................................................................................579
23.3 Studyarea...............................................................................580
23.3.1Regionalgeographyandgeology.............................................580
23.4 BillaSurgaminvestigations............................................................580
23.4.1LateMiddlePleistocenetoLateHolocenefaunaland archaeologicalrecord..........................................................580
23.4.2FieldinvestigationsintheBillaSurgamValley.............................580
23.4.3Laboratorystudiesanddating.................................................581
23.5 InvestigationsintheJurreruValley...................................................585
23.5.1StratifiedYTTanddepositionalenvironment...............................585
23.6 Palaeolithicsitesanddatedlithicandsymbolicartifactassemblages..............589
23.6.1JwalapuramtankAcheulianoccurrence......................................589
23.6.2StratifiedMiddlePalaeolithicoccupationfloors.............................589
23.6.3MicrolithicsequenceatJwalapuram9(JWP9)..............................590
23.7 TheMiddleandLatePalaeolithictypologyandtechnology........................592
23.7.1MiddlePalaeolithicassemblages.............................................592
23.7.2LatePalaeolithicMicrolithictechnology....................................594
23.8 NeolithicKunderuTraditionduringtheLateHolocene.............................594
23.9 Challengesandsolutions...............................................................596
23.9.1DatingtheMiddleandLatePalaeolithicintheJurreruValley.............596
23.9.2ArethePre-YTTMiddlePalaeolithicassemblagesinsecondarycontext?597
23.9.3WhendidtheMiddlePalaeolithictechnologyoriginate??.................598
23.10 PostKAPdevelopmentsinIndianprehistory........................................600
23.10.1OutofAfricaintotheIndianSubcontinent:theorganized searchforhomininremains...................................................600
23.11 Learningandknowledgeoutcomes...................................................602 Acknowledgments......................................................................603 References...............................................................................604
CHAPTER24Holocenevegetation,climate,andcultureinNortheastIndia:
24.1
24.5
24.6
24.7
RutaB.Limaye,K.P.N.KumaranandS.N.Rajaguru
Contributors
AmolAbhale
SchoolofEarthSciences,SavitribaiPhulePuneUniversity,Pune,India
HemaAchyuthan
InstituteforOceanManagement(IOM),AnnaUniversity,India
M.S.Aneesh
NationalCentreforEarthScienceStudies,MinistryofEarthSciences,Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala, India
AmbiliAnoop
IndianInstituteofScienceEducationandResearchMohali,Manauli,Punjab,India
AqibJ.Ansari
DepartmentofEarthSciences,IndianInstituteofTechnologyKanpur,Kanpur,India
ErwinAppel
DepartmentofGeosciences,UniversityofTübingen,Tübingen,Germany
UpasanaS.Banerji
NationalCentreforEarthScienceStudies,MinistryofEarthSciences,Thiruvananthpuram, Kerala,India
N.Basavaiah
IndianInstituteofGeomagnetism,NewPanvel,NaviMumbai,India;DepartmentofPhysics, KrishnaveniDegree&P.G.College,Narasaraopet,Guntur,India
PurnimaBejugam
MarineSciences,SchoolofEarth,OceanandAtmosphericSciences,GoaUniversity,Goa, India
A.Brauer
GermanResearchCentreforGeosciences,Potsdam,Germany
EloraChakraborty
CentrefortheStudyofRegionalDevelopment,JNU,NewDelhi,India
SupriyoChakraborty
IndianInstituteofTropicalMeteorology,MinistryofEarthSciences,Pune,India
GauravChauhan
DepartmentofEarthSciences,K.S.K.V.KachchhUniversity,Bhuj,Gujarat,India
AmeyDatye
IndianInstituteofTropicalMeteorology,MinistryofEarthSciences,Pune,India
HritikaDeopa
DepartmentofEarthSciences,BanasthaliVidyapith,Rajasthan,India
B.C.Deotare
FormerlyofDeccanCollegePost-GraduateandResearchInstitute(nowDeemedtobeUniversity), Pune,India
NarayanP.Gaire
KeyLaboratoryofTropicalForestEcology,XishuangbannaTropicalBotanicalGarden,Chinese AcademyofSciencesMenglun,Mengla,Yunnan,China;CentralDepartmentofEnvironmental Science,TribhuvanUniversity,Kirtipur,Kathmandu,Nepal
NaveenGandhi
IndianInstituteofTropicalMeteorology,Pune,India
S.S.Gudadhe
YashwantraoChavanArts,CommerceandScienceCollege,Lakhandur,India
SubrotaHalder
IndianInstituteofTropicalMeteorology,MinistryofEarthSciences,Pune,India
S.M.Hussain
DepartmentofGeology,SchoolofEarthandAtmosphericSciences,UniversityofMadras,Chennai, India
PriyankaJoshi
BirbalSahniInstituteofPalaeosciences,Lucknow,UP,India
NavinJuyal
PhysicalResearchLaboratory,Navrangpura,Ahmedabad,India
VishwasS.Kale
FormerlyatDepartmentofGeography,SPPuneUniversity,Pune,India
A.M.Kandekar
SchoolofEarthSciences,SavitribaiPhulePuneUniversity,Pune,India
JanhaviKangane
MarineSciences,SchoolofEarth,OceanandAtmosphericSciences,GoaUniversity,Goa,India
OmKatel CollegeofNaturalResources,RoyalUniversityofBhutan,Lobesa,Punakha,Bhutan
A.S.Khadkikar
Råcksta,Stockholmstad,Sweden
RaviKorisettar
ICHRSeniorAcademicFellow,SriSaranakripa,Sivagiri,Dharwad,Karnataka,India
K.P.N.Kumaran
PalynoVision,MonAmour,Erandaane,Pune,Maharashtra,India;ShreenathHermitage,Pune, Maharashtra,India
RutaB.Limaye
PalynoVision,MonAmour,Erandaane,Pune,Maharashtra,India;FormerlyatBiodiversity& PalaeobiologyGroup,AgharkarResearchInstitute,India
IshitaManna
CentrefortheStudyofRegionalDevelopment,JNU,NewDelhi,India
K.Maya
NationalCentreforEarthScienceStudies,MinistryofEarthSciences,Thiruvananthapuram,India
NiveditaMehrotra
BirbalSahniInstituteofPalaeosciences,Lucknow,India
BulbulMehta
IndianInstituteofScienceEducationandResearchMohali,Manauli,Punjab,India
D.C.Meshram
SchoolofEarthSciences,SavitribaiPhulePuneUniversity,Pune,India
PraveenK.Mishra
WadiaInstituteofHimalayanGeology,Dehradun,Uttarakhand,India
SheilaMishra
FormerlyofDeccanCollegePost-GraduateandResearchInstitute(nowDeemedtobeUniversity), Pune,India
SibaPrasadMishra
DepartmentofCivilEngineering,CenturionUniversityofTechnologyandManagement,Jatni, Bhubaneswar,Odisha,India
KrishnaG.Misra
BirbalSahniInstituteofPalaeosciences,Lucknow,India
PavaniMisra
DepartmentofEarthSciences,IndianInstituteofTechnologyKanpur,Kanpur,India
P.M.Mohan
PondicherryUniversity,PortBlair,India
S.VishnuMohan
DepartmentofGeology,SreeNarayanaCollege,Chempazhanthy,Kerala,India;Departmentof Geology,UniversityofKerala,Thiruvananthapuram,India
HarsantiP.Morley
PalynovaLtd,Littleport,UnitedKingdom
RobertJ.Morley
PalynovaLtd,Littleport,UnitedKingdom;EarthSciencesDepartment,RoyalHolloway,University ofLondon,Egham,UnitedKingdom
CharutaMurkute
IndianInstituteofTropicalMeteorology,MinistryofEarthSciences,Pune,India
DebaratiNag
BirbalSahniInstituteofPalaeosciences,Lucknow,UP,India
GanapatiN.Nayak
MarineSciences,SchoolofEarth,OceanandAtmosphericSciences,GoaUniversity,Goa,India
MohammedNoohuNazeer
DepartmentofGeology,SchoolofEarthandAtmosphericSciences,UniversityofMadras,Chennai, India
N.Nowaczyk
GermanResearchCentreforGeosciences,Potsdam,Germany
D.Padmalal
NationalCentreforEarthScienceStudies,MinistryofEarthSciences,Thiruvananthpuram, Kerala,India
UttamPandey
BirbalSahniInstituteofPalaeosciences,Lucknow,India
AnantParekh
IndianInstituteofTropicalMeteorology,MinistryofEarthSciences,Pune,India
BinitaPhartiyal
BirbalSahniInstituteofPalaeosciences,Lucknow,UP,India
SushmaPrasad
ERAScientificEditing,Potsdam,Germany;InstituteforEarthScience,UniversityofPotsdam, Potsdam,Germany
Md.FirozeQuamar
BirbalSahniInstituteofPalaeosciences,Lucknow,UttarPradesh,India
K.Radhakrishnan
DepartmentofGeology,SchoolofEarthandAtmosphericSciences,UniversityofMadras,Chennai, India
S.N.Rajaguru
KamalSudhaApartment,ShaniwarPeth,Pune,Maharashtra,India;FormerlyofDeccanCollege Post-GraduateandResearchInstitute(nowDeemedtobeUniversity),Pune,India
A.Rajkumar
DepartmentofGeology,SchoolofEarthandAtmosphericSciences,UniversityofMadras,Chennai, India
K.NageswaraRao
DepartmentofGeo-Engineering,AndhraUniversity,Visakhapatnam,AndhraPradesh,India
SumanRawat
WadiaInstituteofHimalayanGeology,Dehradun,India
PhanindraReddyA
IndianInstituteofTropicalMeteorology,Pune,India;SavitribaiPhulePuneUniversity,Pune, India
M.R.Resmi
DepartmentofEarthSciences,BanasthaliVidyapith,Rajasthan,India
S.J.Sangode
SchoolofEarthSciences,SavitribaiPhulePuneUniversity,Pune,India
J.Seetharamaiah
DepartmentofGeology,TheUniversityofDodoma,Dodoma,Tanzania
KumarChandraSethi
DepartmentofCivilEngineering,CenturionUniversityofTechnologyandManagement,Jatni, Bhubaneswar,Odisha,India
SantoshK.Shah
BirbalSahniInstituteofPalaeosciences,Lucknow,India
BimalSharma
KeyLaboratoryofTropicalForestEcology,XishuangbannaTropicalBotanicalGarden,Chinese AcademyofSciencesMenglun,Mengla,Yunnan,China
MilapChandSharma
CentrefortheStudyofRegionalDevelopment,JNU,NewDelhi,India
VikramSingh
BirbalSahniInstituteofPalaeosciences,Lucknow,India
NiteshSinha
CenterforClimatePhysics,InstituteforBasicScience,Busan,RepublicofKorea;PusanNational University,Busan,RepublicofKorea
V.Sivapriya
DepartmentofGeology,SchoolofEarthandAtmosphericSciences,UniversityofMadras,Chennai, India
LamginsangThomte
BirbalSahniInstituteofPalaeosciences,Lucknow,India;DepartmentofGeography,Gauhati University,Guwahati,India
AnjaliTrivedi
BirbalSahniInstituteofPalaeosciences,Lucknow,UttarPradesh,India
M.Vandana
NationalCentreforEarthScienceStudies,MinistryofEarthSciences,Thiruvananthapuram,India
V.R.Vivek
NationalCentreforEarthScienceStudies,MinistryofEarthSciences,Thiruvananthapuram,India
AnkitYadav
IndianInstituteofScienceEducationandResearchMohali,Manauli,Punjab,India
RamR.Yadav
WadiaInstituteofHimalayanGeology,Dehradun,India
AkhileshK.Yadava
BirbalSahniInstituteofPalaeosciences,Lucknow,India
Preface
TheHoloceneisthecurrentgeologicalepochanditbeganapproximately11,700calyearsBPafterthe lastglacialperiod.ThoughHoloceneisarelativelyshortdurationintermsoftheplanet’stotalage,this periodisvitalinmanyaspects,particularlyinman’sdevelopment.Fromthehunter-gathererstatus,it wasduringthebeginningofHolocenethatmanevolvedtobeginasettledformoflife.Sincethen,rapid proliferation,growth,andimpactsofthehumanspeciesworldwide,developmentofmajorcivilizations, technologicalrevolutions,andoverallsignificanttransitiontowardurbanlivinginthepresenthavetaken place.Thiswaspossiblesincemanadoptedtheavocationsofagricultureandlivestockrearing.Smallscalesettlementsevolvedintovillagesandcentersofdevelopmentofmajorcivilizations,includingthe IndusValley(Harappa)andtheMaya.
Alongwithhumandevelopment,themonsoonvicissitudesalsosignificantlyimpactedclimate patternsthatevolvedtothecurrentstate.Ithasbecomeprogressivelyclearthatthecivilizations developedandperishedduetogradualorabruptclimaticchanges.Thispromptedscientiststolook attheclimaticchangesofHoloceneasrecordedinthemarineandterrestrialsediments.
Holoceneclimatechangestudyhasattainedgreatimportanceinrecentyearsbecausethepresentdaylandscapeandenvironmentaretheproductsofthebiosphere–geosphereinteractions.TheHolocene periodhaswitnessedthemostdramaticchangesinclimateandsealevel.These,coupledwithlocaland regionaltectonics,hadapronouncedimpactonplantandanimallife,landforms,water,othernonliving resources,andhumanevolutionandcivilization.Thefindingsofthesevastandvariedinvestigations arebroughtaboutbyseveralinternationaljournalsexclusivelydevotedtoQuaternarystudies.Besides theinternationalcommitteessuchasInternationalUnionforQuaternaryResearch(INQUA)and InternationalGeosphere-BiosphereProgramme(IGBP),numerousuniversitiesworldwidehavesetup departmentssolelydedicatedtoQuaternaryresearch.Comparedtothese,andnotwithstandingthelarge volumeoftheliteraturecreatedduringthelastfewdecades,thestudyofQuaternaryscience,especially theHoloceneresearchinthetropicsofSouthAsia,lagsbehindandnotatallparwiththerestofthe world.Thispromptedustocloselylookintotheimprintsofclimatechangeleftinthediversearchives fordecodingthesignaturesusingmultipleproxies,newanalyticaltools,anddatingmethods.
Developmentsindatingtechniques,isotopegeology,andothermodernanalyticaltoolshaveaided thestudyofHolocenesedimentsasarepositoryofclimateproxies.Effortstodecodesignaturesof climatedynamicsduringHolocenehavebeenmadeinthepastdecadeandalotofinformation,including datasetandmodels,hasbeenavailablewithinthetropicalregions,suchastheIndiansubcontinent. Further,thedevelopmentofvariousphysical,chemical,andbiologicalproxiesprovidedfinelytuned informationontheenvironmentalconditionsinrecenttimes.ConsideringtheHolocenebeingdynamic, anappraisalisbeingattemptedinthiscompendium“HoloceneClimateChangeandEnvironment”to overviewtherecentdevelopmentsinHolocenestudiesintheIndiansubcontinentandidentifythesignificantgapsandissuesforstrengtheningoureffortstotackleclimatechangeandtheenvironment.Thevolumeisacompendiumof25researchpapers,beginningwiththechapter“ThePreludetotheHolocene: TropicalAsiaduringthePleistocene,”which,feasiblyprovidesabefittingintroductiontothisvolume.In fact,allthecontributionsareclassifiedunderfourmajorthemes—a)Climatechange,b)Indiansummer monsoonandteleconnections,c)EcosystemsandEnvironment,andd)GeoarchaeologyandHuman culture.
a)ClimateChange
ThebiophysicalenvironmentoftropicalAsiaisuniqueinmanyaspects,andanyclimate changecouldadverselyaffecttheregion’secologicalandsocioenvironmentalfabric.Abetterunderstandingofthepast,climatechangeandvegetationdynamicsoftheregionwillbeofimmenseuse foraddressingfutureclimatechangescenariosthroughreliablepredictionsanddevelopingappropriate climateadaptationstrategiesforhumansurvival.Thisthemeembodiesatotaloftenchapters(1–10). TheintroductorychapterbyRobertMorleyandHarsantiMorelygivesanoverviewofclimateand vegetationhistoryoftropicalAsiaforthelastthreemillionyears.ThePleistocene,accordingtothem, hadwitnessedthedisappearanceofhumidtropicalforests.Incontrast,theappearanceofextensive opengrasslandshostingastockofdiversefauna,afewofthem,havemigratedtoJavaduringtheearly Pleistocene.Thewidespreadoccurrencesandabundancesofmegafaunaandtheclimateperturbations mighthaveconsiderablymodifiedthevegetallandscapeacrosstheregionfedessentiallybymonsoon precipitation.
TheIndiansubcontinenthasexperiencedsignificantclimateandenvironmentalchangesinthelast glacialandinterglacialperiods.Tounderstandthesechanges,oneofthemostreliabletoolsistoexamine proxyrecordsinvariouscontinentalandmarinearchivesinthelightofinstrumentalclimaterecordsand scientific/technologicaladvancements.
Sharmaetal.intheirpaper“ContemporarydynamicsandHoloceneextentofglaciersinthe Himalayas”describethereductioninthethicknessandaerialextentofglaciersinthe“ThirdPole”— theHimalaya.Thestudyrevealedthatmostglaciershadexpanded4–6kmconcerningthepresent position,between9and8kaandalmoststabilizedtill6.0ka.However,lateron,theyretreatedclose tothenewboundariesby6–4ka.Theanalysisofsatellitedatareiteratesthattheretreatingtrend continuesbecauseofclimatechangeandotherhumaninterventions.ThestudyfromLadakhinthetransHimalayabyPhartiyaletal.showedfivemajoraridphasesduringHolocenethathadbeenintervened bycomparativelywarmerperiods.Sangodeetal.,intheirstudyfromChandravalleybasininthe northwesternHimalaya,showedsustainabilityofvalleyenvironmentsduringthelastglacial/interglacial transitionandtheHolocene.Sedimentproductioninasizeabledenudationalcatchmentareaislocked upduetofewertributaryandhangingvalleypassages.Thetrunksystemcharacterizestheglacialto interglacialchangetothetributarysystem.Excessivesedimentproductivityfavoredbythecurrent warminghasenhancedtheChandravalley’ssusceptibilitytodammingandtheothereffectsofextreme weatherconditions.
Apartfromtheglacial-influencedrivers,theotherriversinthecountryalsorespondedsignificantly totheHoloceneclimatechangeandpalaeomonsoonvariability.Inthepaper“Holoceneregional-scale behavioroftheriversofIndianPeninsula,”VishwasS.Kaleaccountedforevidenceofaregionalphase ofaggradationcoincidingwiththemonsoon’smid-Holoceneweakening.Thedepositsoccurasinset terracesintheriverbasinenvironment.Inthelast3–4millennia,intermittentdeposition,superimposed onaslow,steadyincision,hasdominatedthefluvialregimes.Paleofloodrecordsshowclusteringof largefloodsduringmedievalclimateanomalyaroundtheonsetandendofthelittleiceageandthe currentwarmperiod.Quamarconductedastudyon“Holocenevegetationandclimatechangefrom centralIndia:Anupdatedandadetailedpollen-basedreview”anddisclosedtheroleofvegetationin maintainingthewaterandenergybalanceintheglobalclimatesystem.
Likethecontinentalarchives,thecoastalandmarinesedimentsalsorecordtheHoloceneclimate changevariablesinitsdifferentproxies.Padmalaletal.giveadetailedaccountof“Holoceneclimate
andsea-levelchangesandtheirimpactonecology,vegetationandlandforms”takingtheSouthKerala SedimentaryBasin(SKSB),southwestIndiaasacasestudysite.EachclimateepisodeintheHolocene epochsignificantlyaffectedthefloraldiversityandrichness(asrepresentedbyitspalynofacies)inthe SKSBanditshinterlands.Theevergreenforestwasconvertedintowetlands,aquifers/groundwater resourceswereseverelyaffected,andthesensitiveecosystemssuchasmangrovesandfreshwater swampsof Myristica becomerelictsresultingfromthechangingclimatescenariosbroughtinthe hydrologicalprocessesandclimatevariabilityoftheHoloceneepoch.Nayaketal.conductedastudy ofsurfaceandcoresedimentsinthecontinentalshelfandslopeofKrishna,Godavari,andHooghly rivers.Highillitecontentinthesedimentcoreindicatesdepositionofsedimentsfromthecoldcondition byalteringmuscovitemicaintheHimalayanregion,suggestingnortheastmonsoonenhancement. Simultaneously,thepresenceofsmectite,Fe,andTiinthesedimentsshowssedimentcontributionfrom maficsourcerocksandredbedssuppliedbythepeninsularrivers,especiallyKrishnaandGodavaririvers duringtheincreasedspellsofsouthwestmonsoon.
Recentlymanyadvancedandreliableproxiessuchasenvironmentalmagnetism,treerings,etc.,are usedtodecodetheclimatechangesignalsinaregion.Afewpapersontheselinesarealsoincluded inthesectiontogetacquaintedwiththelatesttoolsandtheirapplicationsinclimatechangescience, takingafewcasestudiesfromselectedregionsoftheIndiansubcontinent.Itisnowwidelyacceptedthat environmentalmagnetisminsedimentarydepositscanbeusedforthestudyofPaleomonsoonrecords. However,astudyonenvironmentalmagneticrecordsoftheHoloceneHistoryofIndianMonsoon byBasavaiahetal.cautionedagainsttheuseofthemagneticsusceptibility(χ )forpalaeomonsoon reconstruction.Instead,theyarguethattheS-ratioparameterisamoreefficientproxyforenvironmental, paleomonsoon,andclimatechangestudies.Treeringsofferanotherexcellentproxyforunderstanding long-termvariabilityinriverdischargecharacteristics.Highlightingacasestudyinthetreedvegetation intheSutlejbasinoftheHimalaya,Singhetal.emphasizedtheuseofthispowerfultoolforthe hydrologicalstudiesoftheHimalayantroveofbiologicalandgeologicaldiversitiesthathosthome tomanymajorperennialriversintheIndiansubcontinent.
b)IndianSummerMonsoon(ISM)andTeleconnections
Indiaislocatedatthecenterofthemonsoondomain.TheISM’sprogressionoverIndiamanifeststhe migrationoftheInter-TropicalConvergenceZone(ITCZ)overthecountryandthenorthernIndian Ocean.TherecentincidencesofanomalousspellsofclimateeventsovertheIndiansubcontinent warranttheneedtounderstandISM’sspatiotemporalchangesintheHoloceneepoch.Thereisan imminentneedtofullyunderstandtheclimatevariablesandtheirlinkages/teleconnectionswiththe globalforcingfactors.Therefore,thetheme“IndianSummerMonsoon(ISM)andTeleconnections”of thisvolumeisdevotedexclusivelytoexploringtherecentadvancesandthoughtsinISMphenomena anditsteleconnectionswiththeglobalforcing/driving.
Atotalofsixpapersareincludedunderthistheme(chapters11–16).ThearticleofShahetal.on “PotentialutilityoftheHimalayantree-ring δ 18O”explainshowtheisotopemeasurementscantrack thespatialdistributionofdroughtreconstructioninhistoricaldroughtconcerningmonsoonfailuresin theregion.TheirstudycouldrevealthedecreasingstrengthofISMinthewesternandthehigh-altitude, northwesternpartsoftheIndiansubcontinent.Theestablishedteleconnectionswiththeseasurface temperaturevariationinthePacificOceanandtheIndianOcean–relatedforcingphenomenademarcated thepresentspatialreconstruction’sstrength.DuringHolocene,theISMshowedmarkedvariationsin
