Quaternary Climate Change Over The Indian Subcontinent

Quaternary studies provide the essential context for evaluation of what is happening with the earth's climate today, and to clarify our vulnerability to hazardous natural processes. This book covers scientific aspects of past and present climatic changes of the quaternary period focused on the Indian subcontinent via response of modern environmental conditions on climate proxies, reconstruction of paleoclimate, paleomonsoon, glacial geology, climate variabilities using dendrochronology, cave deposits including quaternary tectonics and climate change over the Himalayan region. It consists of data generated from different landforms including lakes, caves, rivers, swamps, pits, and trenches using different proxies. Aimed at researchers, graduate students, professionals in geology, geography and environmental sciences, micropaleontology, and Quaternary climate change, this book: Studies Quaternary climate using various proxies in varied environments on the Indian sub-continent Covers pertinent historical and environmental archives to understand the current climate scenario Discusses the impact of climate change on biotic and abiotic components Includes thorough review of paleoclimate change studies Devotes significant space to glacial geology and all glacial climate proxies

Holocene Climate Change and Environment presents detailed, diverse case studies from a range of environmental and geological regions on the Indian subcontinent which occupies the central part of the monsoon domain. This book examines Holocene events at different time intervals based on a new, high-resolution, multi-proxy records (pollen, spores, NPP, diatoms, grain size characteristics, total organic carbon, carbon/nitrogen ratio, stable isotopes) and other physical tools from all regions of India. It also covers new facilities in chronological study and luminescence dating, which have added a new dimension toward understanding the Holocene glacial retreats evolution of coastal landforms, landscape dynamics and human evolution. Each chapter is presented with a unified structure for ease of access and application, including an introduction, geographic details, field work and sampling techniques, methods, results and discussion. This detailed examination of such an important region provides key insights in climate modeling and global prediction systems. Provides data and research from environmentally and geologically diverse regions across the Indian subcontinent Presents an integrated and interdisciplinary approach, including considerations of human impacts Features detailed case studies that include methods and data, allowing for applications related to research and global modeling

This open access book discusses the impact of human-induced global climate change on the regional climate and monsoons of the Indian subcontinent, adjoining Indian Ocean and the Himalayas. It documents the regional climate change projections based on the climate models used in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and climate change modeling studies using the IITM Earth System Model (ESM) and CORDEX South Asia datasets. The IPCC assessment reports, published every 6–7 years, constitute important reference materials for major policy decisions on climate change, adaptation, and mitigation. While the IPCC assessment reports largely provide a global perspective on climate change, the focus on regional climate change aspects is considerably limited. The effects of climate change over the Indian subcontinent involve complex physical processes on different space and time scales, especially given that the mean climate of this region is generally shaped by the Indian monsoon and the unique high-elevation geographical features such as the Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the Tibetan Plateau and the adjoining Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Bay of Bengal. This book also presents policy relevant information based on robust scientific analysis and assessments of the observed and projected future climate change over the Indian region.

This collection of articles captures and disseminates contemporary perspectives on climate change from an Indian context. Starting with an argument on a new climate deal which highlights the importance of policies and regulations within the climate change debate, some of India’s best-known geologists, meteorologists, climate scientists and archaeologists have put forward their concerns and convictions in this collection. The book covers articles on climate change scenarios, impacts, policies, regulations and protocols as well as geopolitical and geoeconomics implications of climate change over the Indian sub-continent including climatogenic vulnerability analyses of sea level rise (SLR) and crop production assessment. The geological perspectives of climate change over the Indian sub-continent are covered, along with highlighted climate impacts on the chemical weathering and maturity of sediments as well as on the manganese mineralisation in manganiferous quartzite in the Boringpadar-Amath area. The evolution of the monsoon, the most significant event of tropical belt is addressed through lake’s and river’s sediments, assessing the anthropogenic influences. Climatic conditions reconstructed through Quaternary alluvial sediments as proxy indicator of past climatic conditions over the Indian sub-continent are presented. There is also a separate chapter on the role of cosmic radio nuclide in paleoclimatic reconstructions. The inter-relation of climate change and tectonics over the Indian sub-continent is also covered, while the geopolitics on the conflicts of climate change have been discussed in the larger perspective of the South-Asian region.

These proceedings record the results of climate change in many areas which are hyper-arid deserts today but which, almost cyclically, at intervals of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, have had a much more humid climate.

This open access book discusses the impact of human-induced global climate change on the regional climate and monsoons of the Indian subcontinent, adjoining Indian Ocean and the Himalayas. It documents the regional climate change projections based on the climate models used in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and climate change modeling studies using the IITM Earth System Model (ESM) and CORDEX South Asia datasets. The IPCC assessment reports, published every 6–7 years, constitute important reference materials for major policy decisions on climate change, adaptation, and mitigation. While the IPCC assessment reports largely provide a global perspective on climate change, the focus on regional climate change aspects is considerably limited. The effects of climate change over the Indian subcontinent involve complex physical processes on different space and time scales, especially given that the mean climate of this region is generally shaped by the Indian monsoon and the unique high-elevation geographical features such as the Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the Tibetan Plateau and the adjoining Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Bay of Bengal. This book also presents policy relevant information based on robust scientific analysis and assessments of the observed and projected future climate change over the Indian region.

The Middle Holocene epoch (8,000 to 3,000 years ago) was a time of dramatic changes in the physical world and in human cultures. Across this span, climatic conditions changed rapidly, with cooling in the high to mid-latitudes and drying in the tropics. In many parts of the world, human groups became more complex, with early horticultural systems replaced by intensive agriculture and small-scale societies being replaced by larger, more hierarchial organizations. Climate Change and Cultural Dynamics explores the cause and effect relationship between climatic change and cultural transformations across the mid-Holocene (c. 4000 B.C.). Explores the role of climatic change on the development of society around the world Chapters detail diverse geographical regions Co-written by noted archaeologists and paleoclimatologists for non-specialists

An erudite work on tectonic resurgence in Late Quaternary time of the Indian subcontinent embracing India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, Neotectonism in the Indian Subcontinent dwells on the causes and consequences of tectonic events that fashioned the landscape of a land characterized by a fragmented framework. The narratives on the structural and geomorphic developments during the morphogenic phase of the geodynamic history of the Indian subcontinent explain many phenomena. These include the tremendous height and spectacular structural-geomorphic architecture of the Himalaya, and the behaviour of wayward rivers in the sinking and rising Indo-Gangetic Plains. In addition are the shifting, deflection, piracy, and even disappearance of rivers and streams in the dry desertic terrane of western India, as well as the unique drainage pattern of the ruptured and rifted plateaus and coastal belts of Peninsular India. The formation of huge lakes due to river ponding in the stable continental shield in Karnataka is also explained. All of these phenomena are accompanied by profuse illustrations. Neotectonism in the Indian Subcontinent portrays the evolution of the extraordinary landforms and landscapes of the subcontinent, constituted by multiple terranes of contrasted lithostructural architecture and distinctive geomorphic layout—each with an altogether different geological history. It chronicles events of crustal unrest or tectonic turmoil manifested as displacement, subsidence, and uplift of the ground with bizarre drainage changes and episodic seismicity. This book caters to planners, engineers, and hazard managers, but also satisfies the curiosity of those who are interested in understanding the formation of the Indian subcontinent. Identifies areas and belts recurrently ravaged by geological hazards resulting from neotectonic activities Provides a wealth of information on neotectonic movements and consequent modification of landscape, drainage aberrations, and ground vulnerability, including references that also provide additional resources for those who seek to pursue comprehensive investigations Includes much new observation and refreshing interpretation to explain many of the striking landforms of the region