Rifting,subduction and collisional records from pluton petrogenesis and geochronology in the Hindu Kush,NW Pakistan

New U-(Th)/Pb geochronology and geochemical analyses of plutonic bodies in the Hindu Kush range, NW Pakistan, provide insight on the crustal growth and tectonic evolution of the southern Eurasian margin. These new data outline a protracted magmatic history that spans the Cambrian to the Neogene (ca. 538 to 23 Ma) and record a variety of petrogenetic associations variably influenced by within plate, volcanic arc, and collision tectonic environments. The Kafiristan pluton (538 ± 4 to 487 ± 3 Ma) yields geochemical signatures consistent with extensional plutonism and rifting of the Hindu Kush terrane from Gondwana. The Tirich Mir (127 ± 1 to 123 ± 1 Ma) and Buni-Zom (110 ± 1 to 104 ± 1 Ma) plutons have geochemical signatures that can be attributed to a subduction related continental volcanic arc system that developed along the southern margin of Eurasia in the Mesozoic. The Garam Chasma pluton, the youngest body in the study area (27.3 ± 0.5 to 22.8 ± 0.4 Ma), yields a geochemical signature consistent with widespread anatexis during crustal thickening related to the development of the Himalaya. The present geochemical and geochronological analysis from the Hindu Kush have produced important new constraints on the timing of tectonic events and variable tectonic settings along the south Eurasian margin before and after the continued India–Asia collision.     

Present-day crustal motion around the Pamir Plateau from GPS measurements

We have used geodetic techniques to improve constraints on the crustal motion of the Pamir Plateau. Three campaigns of Global Position System data acquisition between 2011 and 2015 demonstrate that, in association with the India–Asia collision, a complex pattern of crustal motion exists in the Pamir Plateau. In a north–south direction from the Indian Plate to the Hazak Block, the crust has absorbed ~ 35 mm/yr of shortening, of which ~ 35% is distributed around the Hindu Kush region (~ 12 mm/yr), and another ~ 35% is taken up around the Alai Valley (also ~ 12 mm/yr). Global Position System measurements also show ~ 5 mm/yr of shortening between the Pamir Plateau and the Tajik Basin, whereas between the Pamir and the Tarim Basin, an ~ 10 mm/yr extension rate is observed. With respect to the stable Eurasian Plate, the Pamir rotates counterclockwise at a rate of ~ 1.822°Myr^− 1, with an Euler pole positioned about the west end of the Tajik Basin (37.03 ± 0.74°N, 65.89 ± 0.12°E). The strain rate field calculated from Global Position System velocities reveals that the crustal motion is consistent with localized deformation around the Hindu Kush and the Alai Valley, the latter representing a zone with strong shallow seismic activity.     

Reworked manganese ore bodies in Bonai-Keonjhar belt,Singhbhum Craton,India: Petrology and genetic study

The genetic evolution of three types of reworked manganese ore bodies namely: Detrital, Concretionary (Mangcrete) and Wad in the Precambrian Iron Ore Group occurring in Bonai-Keonjahr belt, Singhbhum Craton, India are reported. All the reworked Mn-ore bodies are developed in a restricted area and have a limited resource. Mangcrete and wad are commonly exposed at the surface and extend to a maximum depth of 10 m while detrital ores are observed below 10–20 m from the surface.Detrital ore bodies occur as large boulders and are buried under a thick zone of laterite. Mangcrete is concretionary in nature; oolitic, spherulitic and nodular in shape. Broken fragmented of ooloids and pisoloids, often observed in mangcrete, are indications of reworking. Wad exposures are noticed above low to medium-grade bedded manganese ore bodies. Among three reworked ore types, the detrital is of low to medium-grade having Mn:Fe ratio > 5, while wad and mangcrete are of sub-grade (Mn:Fe ~ 1) and off-grade type (Mn:Fe < 1) respectively.Detrital ore bodies are of allochthonous nature and developed through several stages such as fragmentation of pre-existing ore, leaching and cementation followed by transportation and deep burial. Mangcrete represent chemogenic precipitates at several stages of contemporary Mn-Fe-Al rich fluid under supergene environment. Wad is of bio-chemogenic origin and developed in a swampy region under marine environment due to slow chemical precipitation of Mn-Fe enriched fluid, in several stages nucleating quartz/hematite/cryptomelane detritals.     

Conservation of natural and cultural heritage in Dunhuang,China

A country's natural and cultural heritage is created in a unique environment, and for this heritage to survive, it must be preserved in a similar environment. In China, 60 years of afforestation to combat desertification near the Mogao Grottoes and the Crescent Moon Spring have shown that attempts to protect the regional environment have not protected these heritage sites, and may actually have endangered them. Conserving the environment's original state may be the most effective solution for heritage conservation where sites have survived under a specific set of physical and environmental conditions for hundreds or thousands of years and may not be able to survive a new environment. Man-made changes should only be attempted with great care to avoid damaging the conditions that have preserved the natural or cultural heritage in the long term.     

‘A place for everything’: Moral landscapes of ‘swiftlet farming’ in George Town,Malaysia

This paper is based on 6 months of ethnographic, multi-sited research in Malaysia, and investigates the relatively recent phenomenon of edible birds’ nest farming in urban areas (‘swiftlet farming’). Swiftlet farms are typically converted shophouses or other buildings which have been modified for the purpose of harvesting the nests of the Edible-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus). I use the controversy over urban swiftlet farming in the Malaysian city of George Town, Penang, to examine discourses used by key stakeholders to shape debates over the place of non-human animals in cities. By considering everyday experiences of urban swiftlet farming, I explore how this burgeoning industry is perceived amongst residents, and how it is deemed to be (in)appropriate within the political, economic and cultural landscape of George Town. Yet, I also consider how farmers have sought to contest these discourses on ideological and normative grounds. In so doing, I place the cultural animal geographies literature in conversation with emergent literature on landscape and urban political ecology. Such a framing allows for a critical evaluation of the controversies surrounding this case, and their implications for human-animal cohabitation in cities. The paper reflects on the implications of this case for how we regulate human-animal relations and live in contemporary cities, and the crucial role of animals in altering urban form, aesthetics and everyday life, particularly in non-Western contexts.     

Holocene environmental change in a montane region of southern Europe with a long history of human settlement

This paper uses a palynological sequence to examine the Holocene (8390–160 cal yr BP) environmental history of the Sierra de Baza (Granada, southeastern Spain) with the goal of establishing the mechanisms exerting control over vegetation change. During the period ca 8390–6320 cal yr BP, Pinus dominated the pollen spectra, indicating a forested landscape over the high-elevation areas of the Sierra. From ca 6320–3800 cal yr BP, an expansion of deciduous oaks and other broad-leaf trees took place. After an optimum around 5800–5600 cal yr BP, mesophytes decreased in the 3800–2560 cal yr BP interval while a fire-prone scrub became established. The main loss of forest accompanied the spread of thorny matorral after ca 2560 cal yr BP. Overall, this mountain region has shown itself to be sensitive to a range of influences, among which a continental climate that has become increasingly arid over the last 5000 years, the scarcity of soils suitable for cultivation, a geology that includes sources of copper and other metals and, especially, the incidence of grazing as well as the repeated appearance of fires during the last 4000 years, are highlighted. The history of the vegetation of the Sierra de Baza seems clearly influenced by changes in local economy. Here we discuss how ecological transitions have interacted with cultural changes, with emphasis on the locally highly populated Chalcolithic (5700–4400 cal yr BP) and Argaric (4400–3550 cal yr BP) periods, as well as the Iberian period (3200–2220 cal yr BP). The sierra was abandoned during the Iberian Period which was, paradoxically, when the highest human impact on mountain vegetation is noticeable.     

A late Pleistocene human presence at Huaca Prieta,Peru, and early Pacific Coastal adaptations

Archaeological excavations in deep pre-mound levels at Huaca Prieta in northern Peru have yielded new evidence of late Pleistocene cultural deposits that shed insights into the early human occupation of the Pacific coast of South America. Radiocarbon dates place this occupation between ~ 14,200 and 13,300 cal yr BP. The cultural evidence shares certain basic technological and subsistence traits, including maritime resources and simple flake tools, with previously discovered late Pleistocene sites along the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile. The results help to expand our knowledge of early maritime societies and human adaption to changing coastal environments.     

Holocene versus modern catchment erosion rates at 300 MW Baspa II hydroelectric power plant (India,NW Himalaya)

300 MW Baspa II is India’s largest private hydroelectric facility, located at the Baspa River which is an important left-hand tributary to the Sutlej River in the NW Himalaya (India). In this valley the Sangla palaeo-lake has been dammed around 8200 yr BP behind a rock-avalanche dam and Baspa II is located exactly on top of this palaeo-lake. This special location represents a very rare possibility to evaluate the short-term, river load and hydrological parameters measured during the planning and operational stages of Baspa II with the long-term parameters gained from the palaeo-lake sediments from the catchment. Sedimentological and geomorphological investigations of the lacustrine sediments have been used to reconstruct environmental changes during >2500 years of its existence. The Mid-Holocene erosion rates of the Baspa catchment estimated from the volume and duration of deposition of the exposed lake sediments are at 0.7–1.0 mm yr⁻¹, almost identical with the modern erosion rates calculated from river gauge data from Baspa II. Several charcoal layers and charcoal pieces from the uppermost palaeo-lake levels around 5000 cal yr BP might be related to woodland clearance and they possibly represent one of the oldest evidences for human presence in the Baspa Valley during Neolithic time.     

AFT dating constrains the Cenozoic uplift of the Qimen Tagh Mountains,Northeast Tibetan Plateau,comparison with LA-ICPMS Zircon U–Pb ages

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is the highest plateau in the world, which has been the focus of Cenozoic geological studies. The Northeast Tibetan Plateau (NETP) is a key location to decipher the Cenozoic evolution history of the TP. Understanding the building of the Qimen Tagh Mountains located in NETP will help to constrain the development of the northern boundary of the main TP, test the existence of a Paleo-Qaidam Basin and test the eastward growth model of the TP. In this study, granite samples from the Qimen Tagh Mountains were dated by LA-ICPMS and apatite fission track (AFT). The LA-ICPMS zircon U–Pb ages give two magmatic events around ~ 405 and ~ 255 Ma from two different sites. AFT modeling shows that the initial uplift took place at ~ 40–30 Ma in these mountains, which should be controlled by the Altyn Tagh Fault. Compiling previously low-temperature thermochronometry results, it reveals that the initial Cenozoic uplift of the northern boundary of the TP (Qimen Tagh and East Kunlun mountains), soon after the India–Eurasia collision in the southern TP, has divided the Paleo-Qaidam Basin into several sub-basins. The approximate NE–E growth process occurred along the lithospheric Altyn Tagh and Kunlun faults. The current basin and range morphology of the NETP took place around ~ 8 Ma.     

Co and postseismic characteristics of Indian sub-continent in response to the 2004 Sumatra earthquake

The M_w 9.3 Sumatra earthquake of December 26, 2004 caused extensive coseismic displacements globally, measurements of which were made essentially using modern geodetic techniques. This earthquake induced considerable perturbation in stress distribution as far as ∼8000 km away from the epicenteral region, which is tending to relax to its normal rates as seen from postseismic transient deformation. The monitoring of crustal displacements from strategically located sites using GPS provides coseismic as well as postseismic deformation that facilitates the understanding of the fault geometry, elastic thickness, postseismic relaxation mechanisms, rheology and earthquake recurrence time interval.We investigated coseismic and postseismic GPS derived displacements in Indian region together with the GPS data collected from Andaman and Sumatra region. It is found that while EW displacements are significantly large in peninsular India, those in the region to the north of Central India Tectonic Zone (CITZ) are relatively small. We could delineate the postseismic transients from position time series and interpreted them in terms of viscoelastic relaxation. It is inferred that the postseismic deformation is characterized by a power-law viscoelastic flow in the mantle. In Indian peninsula region, the timescale parameter of the exponential decay (τ = 250 days) would require an extremely low viscosity for the upper mantle. Relying on the prevailing coseismic and postseismic displacement fields, the present study also reflects upon the contemporary litho-tectonics of the Indian sub-continent.     

One million years of cultural evolution in a stable environment at Atapuerca (Burgos,Spain)

The present paper analyses the evidence provided by three sites (Sima del Elefante, Gran Dolina, and Galería) located in the Trinchera del Ferrocarril of the Sierra de Atapuerca. These three sites are cave infillings that contain sediments deposited from approximately 1.2 Ma to 200 kyr. Pollen, herpetofauna, and small and large mammal remains are used as proxies to obtain a general picture of the environmental changes that occurred at the Sierra de Atapuerca throughout the one million-year period represented at these sites. Similarly, cultural changes are tracked analyzing the evidence of human behavior obtained from the study of several bone and lithic assemblages from these three sites. At least three periods with different cultural features, involving technology, subsistence and behavior, are determined from the available evidence. The first two periods correspond to the Mode 1 technology and Homo antecessor: the first is dated around 1.2 to 1.0 Ma and reflects opportunistic behavior both in technology and subsistence. The second period is around 800 kyr BP. Mode 1 technology is still maintained, but subsistence strategies include systematic hunting and the use of base camps. The third period is dated between 500 ka and 200 ka and corresponds to the Mode 2 technology and the acquisition of directional hunting and other organizational strategies by Homo heidelbergensis. A transition from Mode 2 to Mode 3 seems to appear at the end of this time-range, and may reflect the early phases of a fourth cultural change. With regard to the environment, our main conclusion is that there was an absence of extremely harsh conditions at Atapuerca throughout this time period. The presence of Mediterranean taxa was constant and the dominant landscape was a savannah-like open environment, probably with small forest patches. An alternation of Mediterranean and mesic species as the dominant component of the tree storey was induced by the climatic cycles, and steppes spread across the landscape during the drier periods. In any case, it is not possible to establish clear cut-off points separating entirely different environmental episodes. Our results show no evidence of any relationship between environmental change and cultural change at the Sierra de Atapuerca.     

A calendar chronology for Pleistocene mammoth and horse extinction in North America based on Bayesian radiocarbon calibration

Recent debate about the timing of late Pleistocene extinctions in North America has taken place on the radiocarbon timescale. Since the current internationally agreed radiocarbon calibration curve (known as IntCal04) extends back well into the Pleistocene, it is possible to make inferences on the calendar scale. To do so requires some fairly sophisticated, tailored statistical tools, to allow for (a) the presence of considerable uncertainty on individual radiocarbon ages and on the IntCal04 estimate, and (b) the inevitable incompleteness of our access to the fossil record. In this paper we demonstrate Bayesian radiocarbon calibration software, known as BCal, which implements models with both of these features, is tried and tested within the archaeology research community, but has not previously been used by those engaged in extinction research. We conclude that the extinction of horse (Equus ferus/caballus) in Alaska and Yukon is broadly contemporary with the arrival of humans in the area and took place at around 14,200 cal BP. We find that the extinction of mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) in the same region occurred around 900 calendar years later (c. 13,300 cal BP). We also establish, with high probability, that the start of the Bölling warm phase occurred before these events and that the start of the Younger Dryas cold phase occurred after.     

A Late Cretaceous (ca. 90 Ma) kimberlite event in southern India: Implication for sub-continental lithospheric mantle evolution and diamond exploration

We report groundmass perovskite U–Pb (SIMS) ages, perovskite Nd isotopic (LA-ICPMS) composition and bulk-rock geochemical data of the Timmasamudram diamondiferous kimberlite cluster, Wajrakarur kimberlite field, in the Eastern Dharwar craton of southern India. The kimberlite pipes gave similar Mesoproterozoic ages of 1086 ± 19 Ma (TK-1, microcrystic variant) and 1119 ± 12 Ma (TK-3). However, a perovskite population sampled from the macrocrystic variant of TK-1 gave a much younger Late Cretaceous age of ca. 90 Ma. This macrocrystic kimberlite phase intrudes the Mesoproterozoic microcrystic phase and has a distinct bulk-rock geochemistry. The Nd-isotope composition of the ~ 1100 Ma perovskites in the cluster show depleted ε_Nd(T) values of 2.1 ± 0.6 to 6.7 ± 0.3 whereas the ~ 90 Ma perovskites have enriched ε_Nd(T) values of − 6.3 ± 1.3. The depleted-mantle (DM) model age of the Cretaceous perovskites is 1.2 Ga, whereas the DM model age of the Proterozoic perovskites is 1.2 to 1.5 Ga. Bulk-rock incompatible trace element ratios (La/Sm, Gd/Lu, La/Nb and Th/Nb) of all Timmasamudram kimberlites show strong affinity with those from the Cretaceous Group II kimberlites from the Bastar craton (India) and Kaapvaal craton (southern Africa). As the Late Cretaceous age of the younger perovskites from the TK-1 kimberlite is indistinguishable from that of the Marion hotspot-linked extrusive and intrusive igneous rocks from Madagascar and India, we infer that all may be part of a single Madagascar Large Igneous Province. Our finding constitutes the first report of Cretaceous kimberlite activity from southern India and has significant implications for its sub-continental lithospheric mantle evolution and diamond exploration programs.     

U–Pb dating of detrital zircon grains in the Paleocene Stumpata Formation,Tethyan Himalaya,Zanskar, India

The sediments deposited on the northern margin of Greater India during the Paleocene allow the timing of collision with the Spontang Ophiolite, the oceanic Kohistan–Dras Arc and Eurasia to be constrained. U–Pb dating of detrital zircon grains from the Danian (61–65 Ma) Stumpata Formation shows a provenance that is typical of the Tethyan Himalaya, but with a significant population of grains from 129 ± 7 Ma also accounting for ∼15% of the total, similar to the synchronous Jidula Formation of south central Tibet. Derivation of these grains from north of the Indus Suture can be ruled out, precluding India’s collision with either Eurasia or the Kohistan–Dras before 61 Ma. Despite the immediate superposition of the Spontang Ophiolite, there are no grains in the Stumpata Formation consistent with erosion from this unit. Either Spontang obduction is younger than previously proposed, or the ophiolite remained submerged and/or uneroded until into the Eocene. The Mesozoic grains correlate well with the timing of ∼130 Ma volcanism in central Tibet, suggesting that this phase of activity is linked to extension across the whole margin of northern India linked to the separation of India from Australia and Antarctica at that time. Mesozoic zircons in younger sedimentary rocks in Tibet suggest a rapid change in provenance, with strong erosion from within or north of the suture zone starting in the Early Eocene following collision. We find no evidence for strongly diachronous collision from central Tibet to the western Himalaya.     

Long wavelength gravity anomalies over India: Crustal and lithospheric structures and its flexure

Long wavelength gravity anomalies over India were obtained from terrestrial gravity data through two independent methods: (i) wavelength filtering and (ii) removing crustal effects. The gravity fields due to the lithospheric mantle obtained from two methods were quite comparable. The long wavelength gravity anomalies were interpreted in terms of variations in the depth of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) and the Moho with appropriate densities, that are constrained from seismic results at certain points. Modeling of the long wavelength gravity anomaly along a N–S profile (77°E) suggest that the thickness of the lithosphere for a density contrast of 0.05 g/cm³ with the asthenosphere is maximum of ∼190 km along the Himalayan front that reduces to ∼155 km under the southern part of the Ganga and the Vindhyan basins increasing to ∼175 km south of the Satpura Mobile belt, reducing to ∼155–140 km under the Eastern Dharwar craton (EDC) and from there consistently decreasing south wards to ∼120 km under the southernmost part of India, known as Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT).The crustal model clearly shows three distinct terrains of different bulk densities, and thicknesses, north of the SMB under the Ganga and the Vindhyan basins, and south of it the Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) and the Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT) of bulk densities 2.87, 2.90 and 2.96 g/cm³, respectively. It is confirmed from the exposed rock types as the SGT is composed of high bulk density lower crustal rocks and mafic/ultramafic intrusives while the EDC represent typical granite/gneisses rocks and the basement under the Vindhyan and Ganga basins towards the north are composed of Bundelkhand granite massif of the lower density. The crustal thickness along this profile varies from ∼37–38 km under the EDC, increasing to ∼40–45 km under the SGT and ∼40–42 km under the northern part of the Ganga basin with a bulge up to ∼36 km under its southern part. Reduced lithospheric and crustal thicknesses under the Vindhyan and the Ganga basins are attributed to the lithospheric flexure of the Indian plate due to Himalaya. Crustal bulge due to lithospheric flexure is well reflected in isostatic Moho based on flexural model of average effective elastic thickness of ∼40 km. Lithospheric flexure causes high heat flow that is aided by large crustal scale fault system of mobile belts and their extensions northwards in this section, which may be responsible for lower crustal bulk density in the northern part. A low density and high thermal regime in north India north of the SMB compared to south India, however does not conform to the high S-wave velocity in the northern part and thus it is attributed to changes in composition between the northern and the southern parts indicating a reworked lithosphere. Some of the long wavelength gravity anomalies along the east and the west coasts of India are attributed to the intrusives that caused the breakup of India from Antarctica, and Africa, Madagascar and Seychelles along the east and the west coasts of India, respectively.     

The longest voyage: Tectonic,magmatic, and paleoclimatic evolution of the Indian plate during its northward flight from Gondwana to Asia

The tectonic evolution of the Indian plate, which started in Late Jurassic about 167 million years ago (~ 167 Ma) with the breakup of Gondwana, presents an exceptional and intricate case history against which a variety of plate tectonic events such as: continental breakup, sea-floor spreading, birth of new oceans, flood basalt volcanism, hotspot tracks, transform faults, subduction, obduction, continental collision, accretion, and mountain building can be investigated. Plate tectonic maps are presented here illustrating the repeated rifting of the Indian plate from surrounding Gondwana continents, its northward migration, and its collision first with the Kohistan–Ladakh Arc at the Indus Suture Zone, and then with Tibet at the Shyok–Tsangpo Suture. The associations between flood basalts and the recurrent separation of the Indian plate from Gondwana are assessed. The breakup of India from Gondwana and the opening of the Indian Ocean is thought to have been caused by plate tectonic forces (i.e., slab pull emanating from the subduction of the Tethyan ocean floor beneath Eurasia) which were localized along zones of weakness caused by mantle plumes (Bouvet, Marion, Kerguelen, and Reunion plumes). The sequential spreading of the Southwest Indian Ridge/Davie Ridge, Southeast Indian Ridge, Central Indian Ridge, Palitana Ridge, and Carlsberg Ridge in the Indian Ocean were responsible for the fragmentation of the Indian plate during the Late Jurassic and Cretaceous times. The Réunion and the Kerguelen plumes left two spectacular hotspot tracks on either side of the Indian plate. With the breakup of Gondwana, India remained isolated as an island continent, but reestablished its biotic links with Africa during the Late Cretaceous during its collision with the Kohistan–Ladakh Arc (~ 85 Ma) along the Indus Suture. Soon after the Deccan eruption, India drifted northward as an island continent by rapid motion carrying Gondwana biota, about 20 cm/year, between 67 Ma to 50 Ma; it slowed down dramatically to 5 cm/year during its collision with Asia in Early Eocene (~ 50 Ma). A northern corridor was established between India and Asia soon after the collision allowing faunal interchange. This is reflected by mixed Gondwana and Eurasian elements in the fossil record preserved in several continental Eocene formations of India. A revised India–Asia collision model suggests that the Indus Suture represents the obduction zone between India and the Kohistan–Ladakh Arc, whereas the Shyok-Suture represents the collision between the Kohistan–Ladakh arc and Tibet. Eventually, the Indus–Tsangpo Zone became the locus of the final India–Asia collision, which probably began in Early Eocene (~ 50 Ma) with the closure of Neotethys Ocean. The post-collisional tectonics for the last 50 million years is best expressed in the evolution of the Himalaya–Tibetan orogen. The great thickness of crust beneath Tibet and Himalaya and a series of north vergent thrust zones in the Himalaya and the south-vergent subduction zones in Tibetan Plateau suggest the progressive convergence between India and Asia of about 2500 km since the time of collision. In the early Eohimalayan phase (~ 50 to 25 Ma) of Himalayan orogeny (Middle Eocene–Late Oligocene), thick sediments on the leading edge of the Indian plate were squeezed, folded, and faulted to form the Tethyan Himalaya. With continuing convergence of India, the architecture of the Himalayan–Tibetan orogen is dominated by deformational structures developed in the Neogene Period during the Neohimalayan phase (~ 21 Ma to present), creating a series of north-vergent thrust belt systems such as the Main Central Thrust, the Main Boundary Thrust, and the Main Frontal Thrust to accommodate crustal shortening. Neogene molassic sediment shed from the rise of the Himalaya was deposited in a nearly continuous foreland trough in the Siwalik Group containing rich vertebrate assemblages. Tomographic imaging of the India–Asia orogen reveals that Indian lithospheric slab has been subducted subhorizontally beneath the entire Tibetan Plateau that has played a key role in the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. The low-viscosity channel flow in response to topographic loading of Tibet provides a mechanism to explain the Himalayan–Tibetan orogen. From the start of its voyage in Southern Hemisphere, to its final impact with the Asia, the Indian plate has experienced changes in climatic conditions both short-term and long-term. We present a series of paleoclimatic maps illustrating the temperature and precipitation conditions based on estimates of Fast Ocean Atmospheric Model (FOAM), a coupled global climate model. The uplift of the Himalaya–Tibetan Plateau above the snow line created two most important global climate phenomena—the birth of the Asian monsoon and the onset of Pleistocene glaciation. As the mountains rose, and the monsoon rains intensified, increasing erosional sediments from the Himalaya were carried down by the Ganga River in the east and the Indus River in the west, and were deposited in two great deep-sea fans, the Bengal and the Indus. Vertebrate fossils provide additional resolution for the timing of three crucial tectonic events: India–KL Arc collision during the Late Cretaceous, India–Asia collision during the Early Eocene, and the rise of the Himalaya during the Early Miocene.     

Hindu nationalism, neo-traditionalism and environmental discourses in India

One of the defining changes India has experienced over the last decade has been the social and political consolidation of the Hindu Right. Critics point to its chauvinist ideologies, the discrimination and violence against religious minorities, and the neglect of the poor. This paper examines the parallels between the discourses of the Hindu Right and those of neo-traditionalist environmentalists. Similarities include gendered and social conservatism; superficial hermeneutic analyses of ancient texts; partial and ‘romantic’ histories; and the essentialisation of science and of East and West. The paper concludes by suggesting that environmental scholars and activists cannot afford to be innocent of the implications of their ideas and assumptions given the social and political contexts of Hindu nationalism in contemporary India.     

Vegetation history and environmental development since ca 6000 cal yr BP in and around Ispani 2 (Kolkheti lowlands,Georgia)

The Kolkheti lowlands of western Georgia have a unique vegetation and a rich cultural history. Palynological and macrofossil analysis accompanied by AMS ¹⁴C-dates of the deposits of the Ispani 2 mire near Kobuleti allow the reconstruction of regional vegetation, environmental history and local peatland development within the context of Black Sea level and cultural changes. Comparison of two adjacent peatland cores confirms spatial differences in wetland development. Prior to 5400 cal yr BP, the Ispani basin was a floodplain of an active river system where overbank deposits with fluvially transported Castanea pollen were deposited. Subsequently, a lake or lagoon developed in which reeds expanded. These were succeeded by herb-rich open alder carrs. After 1900 cal yr BP, Carpinus and Fagus expanded on the dry grounds, where formerly Quercus was more abundant. Also Castanea declined. Local reedbeds, that burned regularly, succeeded the alder carr. After 1000 cal yr BP, a percolation bog developed resulting in the formation of 4 m of loose, porous, and largely undecomposed Sphagnum austinii peat with Molinia roots. The upper 50 cm of the analysed section show extensive human impact on the landscape during the 20th century.     

Landscape evolution of the Ulan Buh Desert in northern China during the late Quaternary

The evolution of arid environments in northern China was a major environmental change during the Quaternary. Here we present the dating and environmental proxy results from a 35 m long core (A-WL10ZK-1) collected from the Ulan Buh Desert (UBD), along with supplemental data from four other cores. The UBD is one of the main desert dune fields in China and our results indicate the UBD has undergone complex evolution during the late Quaternary. Most of the present UBD was covered by a Jilantai-Hetao Mega-paleolake lasting until ~ 90 ka ago. A sandy desert environment prevailed throughout the UBD during the last glacial period and early Holocene. A wetland environment characterized by the formation of numerous interdunal ponds in the northern UBD occurred at ~ 8–7 ka, although a dune field persisted in the southern UBD. The modern UBD landscape formed after these wetlands dried up. During the last 2000 years, eolian sand from the Badain Jaran Desert has invaded the northern UBD, while farming and overgrazing resulted in the formation of the eastern UBD. We suggest that the formation of UBD landforms is related to the disintegration of the megalake Jilantai-Hetao and to summer monsoon changes during the last glaciation and Holocene.