Paleoclimate Reconstruction & Environment

We focus on the reconstruction of Quaternary paleoclimate (and paleovegetation patterns) of India, with respect to the major shifts in southwest monsoon strength and precipitation, from multiple climate proxies archived in sediment records of Indo-Gangetic basin and other alluvium, lakes, peat bogs, and archaeological (short-lived herbivores) material. In particular, proxies such as stable oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of carbonate nodules, paleosols, sediment/soil organic matter, and clay minerals recovered from well-dated horizons are utilized to reconstruct climate history during Quaternary. Several major projects on this theme have been executed focusing on the fluvial archives from the Ganga plains in eastern India and Ghaggar plains in NW India, lacustrine cores from Thar desert and Antarctica, and delta systems in Bengal plains.