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Speleothem Evidence for Changes in Indian Summer Monsoon Precipitation over the Last ∼2300 Years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Rhawn F. Denniston ,
Luis A. González ,
Yemane Asmerom ,
Ram H. Sharma  and
Mark K. Reagan
Rhawn F. Denniston
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, E-mail: [email protected]
Luis A. González
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, E-mail: [email protected]
Yemane Asmerom
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131
Ram H. Sharma
Affiliation:
Himalayan Climate Centre, Kathmandu, Nepal
Mark K. Reagan
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Speleothems from a well-ventilated dolomitic cave in the Pokhara Valley, central Nepal, preserve a mineralogic record of Indian summer monsoon variability over the past 2300 yr. Annually deposited aragonite layers formed between 2300 and 1500 yr B.P., indicating reduced monsoon precipitation and increased cave aridity, whereas alternating calcite/aragonite laminae deposited after 1500 yr B.P. record elevated summer monsoon precipitation and increased cave humidity. Dense, optically clear calcite layers deposited from 450 ± 5 to 360 ± 20 yr B.P. (1550 to 1640 A.D.) indicate a less-evaporative cave environment and suggest moister and/or cooler conditions, possibly related to climatic change associated with the onset of the Little Ice Age.

Keywords

speleothemIndiamonsoonLittle Ice Agelate Holocene
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 53 , Issue 2 , March 2000 , pp. 196 - 202
Copyright
University of Washington

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