Rock-magnetic measurements along with grain size, acid-insoluble residue (AIR), organic carbon (OC), CaCO3 and δ18O of the planktonic foraminifers of the sediments were determined for 15 gravity cores recovered from the western continental margin of India. Magnetic susceptibility (MS) values in the surficial sediments reflect the land-derived input and, in general, are the highest in terrigenous sediment-dominated sections of the cores off Saurashtra–Ratnagiri, followed by the sediments off Indus–Gulf of Kachchh and then Mangalore–Cape Comorin.
The down-core variations in mineral magnetic parameters reveal that the glacial sediments off the Indus are characterized by low MS values/S-ratios associated with high AIR-content, low OC/CaCO3 contents and relatively high δ18O values, while those off SW India are characterized by low MS values/high S-ratio% associated with low AIR content, and relatively high OC, CaCO3 and δ18O values. Conversely, the Early Holocene sediments of all cores are characterized by high MS values/S-ratio% associated with high AIR content, low OC, CaCO3 contents and gradually decreased δ18O values. These results imply that during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the cores off northwestern India received abundant continental supply leading to the predominance of eolian/fluvial sedimentation. In the SW region the influence of hinterland flux is less evident during this period, but convective mixing associated with the NE monsoon resulted in increased productivity. During the early Holocene intense SW monsoon conditions resulted in high precipitation on land, which in turn contributed increased AIR content/MS values in the continental margin sediments. A shallow water core off Kochi further suggests that the intense SW monsoon conditions prevailed until about 5 ka. The late Holocene organic-rich sediments of the SW margin of India were, however, subjected to early diagenesis at different intervals in the cores. Therefore, caution is needed when interpreting regional climatic change from down-core changes in sediment magnetic properties. 相似文献
Sediment cores from the upper continental slope of the eastern Arabian Sea have high organic carbon (OC), CaCO3, and sand content at the top. The values decrease with increasing depth in the Holocene and Upper Pleistocene. Topographic
highs show highest OC and lower CaCO3 in the Holocene clayey sediments and vice versa in the Pleistocene sandy sediments. The OC is immature and marine or a mixture
of both marine and terrestrial in the Holocene sediments and is mostly terrestrial and/or reworked marine in the Pleistocene
sediments. Productivity is the main controlling factor for the organic carbon enrichment. Texture and reworking also influence
the organic carbon variations.
Received: 29 May 1996/Revision received: 10 January 1997 相似文献
Ice and firn core studies provide one of the most valuable tools for understanding the past climate change. In order to evaluate the temporal isotopic variability recorded in ice and its relevance to environmental changes, stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen were studied in a firn core from coastal Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. The annual δ18O profile of the core shows a close relation to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. The ENSO indices show significant correlation with the surface air temperatures and δ18O values of this region during the austral summer season and support an additional influence related to the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). The correlation between the combined ENSO-SAM index and the summer δ18O record seems to have been caused through an atmospheric mechanism. Snow accumulation in this region illustrates a decreasing trend with opposite relationships with δ18O data and surface air temperature prior and subsequent to the year 1997. A reorganization of the local water cycle is further indicated by the deuterium excess data showing a shift around 1997, consistent with a change in evaporation conditions. The present study thus illustrates the utility of ice-core studies in the reconstruction of past climate change and suggests possible influence of climatic teleconnections on the snow accumulation rates and isotopic profiles of snow in the coastal regions of east Antarctica. 相似文献
Geospatial studies carried out in two major proglacial lakes of Samudra Tapu and Gepang Gath (Chandra Basin, Western Himalaya) showed substantial expansion in their area and volume over the last four decades (1971–2014). The linear and areal expansions for the lakes Samudra Tapu and Gepang Gath were 1889, 1509 m and 1, 0.6 km2, respectively. The results show that increased melting of the feeder glaciers over this period is major contributor to expand the volumes approximately 20 times of both the lakes Samudra Tapu and Gepang Gath. This expansion of lakes volume of Samudra Tapu and Gepang Gath from 3.4 × 106 to 67.7 × 106 and 1.5 × 106 to 27.5 × 106 m3, respectively, is quite significance in terms of hazards generated from glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF). This kind of climate change induced increase in the rate of glacial melting is a cause of concern, as the Himalaya Mountains may turn out to be vulnerable to natural hazards like GLOF. 相似文献
This study examines regional atmospheric circulation changes associated with a reversal in the sign of the relationship between the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and near-surface temperatures at Halley station, East Antarctica, during the 1980s. We show that the key factor affecting the regional SAM?Ctemperature relationship (STR) is the relative magnitude of two climatological low pressure centres to the west and east of the area, which determines the source region of air masses advected into the locality. The principal difference affecting the STR is shown to be a trend towards a significantly weaker climatological low (higher pressure) at ~20°E during a positive phase of the SAM. Specifically, it is variations in the phase and magnitude of the wave number three patterns of atmospheric circulation, the non-annular component of the SAM, which are the principal factors governing the regional STR. A similar reversal is observed in the sign of the correlation between the SAM and oxygen-isotope values from an ice core located some 1,200?km east of Halley. This relationship is examined throughout the 20th Century, by comparing the isotope data to SAM reconstructions, and demonstrates marked decadal variability. Thus, these data suggest that switches in the STR are more likely to reflect natural variability in the long-wave patterns over the Southern Ocean rather than the influence of an anthropogenic forcing. This finding is important when considering the potential utility of Antarctic isotope data as a proxy for the SAM. 相似文献
Complex factors such as climate, glacial geometry, topographical features and debris covers have significant influence on the dynamics of the Himalayan glaciers. Presence of debris covers on the surface of glaciers can significantly alter the surface energy balance and influence the climatic response of glaciers. In this study, the influence of debris covers and its impact on the ablation processes were analyzed from the in situ data collected over the surface of the Batal glacier in Chandra Basin, Western Himalaya. Almost 90 % of the ablation zone of the Batal glacier is covered by debris, 35 % of which is thick debris (>10 cm). Fourteen stakes (depth ~10 m) with increasing altitude and with varying debris thicknesses were installed to cover the whole ablation zone. Among them, four stakes represent thin debris (<2 cm), two stakes represent 2–5 cm debris thickness, two stakes represent 5–25 cm debris thickness, three stakes represent 25–50 cm debris thickness and three stakes represent >50 cm debris thickness. Our study has revealed high surface melting (?2.0 cm. w.e.d?1) in the debris free glacier while low surface melting observed in thick debris covered ice (?0.6 cm. w.e.d?1). Although limited to one season, this observation revealed a significant difference in the rate of surface melting as per the increasing debris thickness. Contrasting to normal ablation pattern over glaciers, Batal has experienced inverse retreat rate of ablation along with increasing altitude. A high degree of negative correlation (r = ?0.82, p < 0.05) between ablation rate and debris thickness in Batal suggest a significant control of debris thickness over ablation rate. 相似文献
Indian monsoon precipitation fluctuated significantly during the Holocene and a reliable reconstruction of the timing of the
events and their implications is of great benefit to our understanding of the effect and response of low latitude climate
systems to the forcing factors. We have carried out high-resolution terrigenous proxy studies on a laminated sediment core
from the Oxygen Minimum Zone of the eastern Arabian Sea margin to reconstruct the summer monsoon-controlled precipitation
changes during the Holocene. The temporal variation in the terrigenous proxy indicators of this core, in combination with
other high-quality cores from the Arabian Sea, suggests several abrupt events in monsoon precipitation throughout the Holocene.
The early Holocene monsoon intensification occurred in two abrupt steps at 9500 and 9100 years BP and weakened gradually thereafter,
starting at 8500 years BP. A weakening in precipitation recorded at ∼7000 years BP, synchronous with similar conditions in
India. One of the most significant weak monsoon periods recorded in our studies lies between 6000 and 5500 years BP. Spectral
analysis of the precipitation records reveals statistically significant periodicities at 2200, 1350, 950, 750, 470, 320, 220,
156, 126, 113, 104 and 92 years. Most of these millennial-to-centennial cycles exist in various monsoon records as well as
the tree ring Δ14C data and/or other solar proxy records. We suggest that throughout the Holocene, externally, small changes in solar activity
controlled the Indian monsoon to a large extent, whereas internally, non-solar causes could have influenced the amplitude
of decadal-to-centennial oscillations. 相似文献
Changes in the terrigenous sediment source and transport mechanisms during the late Quaternary have been investigated using
four sediment cores within the Indian sector of Southern Ocean, using the magnetic susceptibility (MS) and sedimentological
records. Sediments deposited during the Holocene and other interglacial periods were characterised by low MS, low sand content,
reduced ice-rafted detritus (IRD) input and increased illite possibly transported via hydrographic advection from the south.
The glacial intervals are characterised by high MS, high sand content, increased IRD input and reduced illite clays, derived
from both local as well as Antarctic sources. Significant reduction in clay fraction and illite content during glacials suggests
that the erosive and transporting capabilities of the deep and bottom waters could have reduced compared to the interglacial
times. The changes in terrigenous influx to this region were significantly influenced by the rhythmic glacial-interglacial
fluctuations in bottom circulation and the position of the Polar Front. 相似文献
Multiple proxy studies on sediment core SK 200/22a from the sub-Antarctic sector of the Indian Ocean revealed millennial-scale fluctuations in terrigenous input during the last 63,000?years. The marine isotope stages 1 (MIS 1) and MIS 3 are characterized by generally low concentrations of magnetic minerals, being dominated by fine-grained magnetite and titano-magnetite. Within the chronological constraints, periods of enhanced terrigenous input and calcite productivity over the last 63,000?years are nearly synchronous with the warming events recorded in Antarctic ice cores. An equatorward shift of the westerly wind system in association with a strengthening of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) system may have promoted wind-induced shallow-water erosion around oceanic islands, leading to enhanced terrigenous input to the core site. Major ice-rafted debris events at 13?C23, 25?C30, 45?C48 and 55?C58?ka BP are asynchronous with ??18O and carbonate productivity records. This out-of-phase relation suggests that ice-sheet dynamics and ACC intensity were the primary factors influencing ice rafting and terrigenous input to the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean, with only limited support from sea-surface warming. 相似文献
The cryosphere constitutes an important subset of the hydrosphere.The Himalayan cryosphere is a significant contributor to the hydrological budget of a large river system such as the Ganges.Basic data on the cryosphere in the Himalaya is inadequate and also has large uncertainties.The data on glacial melt component in the Himalayan rivers of India also shows high variability.The Gangotri glacier which constitutes nearly a fifth of the glacierized area of the Bhagirathi basin represents one of the fastest receding,large valley glaciers in the region which has been surveyed and monitored for over sixty years.The availability of measurement over a long period and relatively small glacier-fed basin for the Bhagirathi river provides suitable constraints for the measurement of the glacial melt fraction in a Himalayan river.Pre- and post-monsoon samples reveal a decreasing trend Of depletion of δ~(18)O in the river water from glacier snout(Gaumukh) to the confluence of the Bhagirathi river with the Alaknanda river near Devprayag.Calculations of existing glacial melt fraction(~ 30%at Rishikesh) are not consistent with the reported glacial thinning rates.It is contended that the choice of unsuitable end-members in the three component mixing model causes the overestimation of glacial melt component in the river discharge.Careful selection of end members provides results(~11%at Devprayag) that are consistent with the expected thinning rates. 相似文献