Amir, Mohd , Paul, Debajyoti , Chang, Yuan-Pin
2024-03-01 PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY 2024 637(卷), null(期), (null页)
Here we report continuous and chronologically well-constrained records of stable oxygen (818O) and carbon (813C) isotope compositions of carbonate nodules (nodular calcretes), and 813C of sediment organic matters (813CSOM) in samples from two (-48 m deep) drill-sediment cores, collected from a paleo-Yamuna channel in the NW Indo-Gangetic Plain in north Haryana. The results were used to reconstruct Indian summer monsoon (ISM) precipitation variability and paleovegetation pattern during the past -75 ka and present a longer record of ISM variability in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The 818O of carbonate nodules (-7.80%o to -4.04%o, average -6.01%o) shows a good negative covariation with variability in the model-derived intensity of ISM precipitation, indicating it to be a good proxy for ISM variability. We infer intense ISM precipitation during late marine isotope stage (MIS) 5, early and late MIS 3, and early MIS 1 periods, marked by relatively lower 818O of carbonates. These changes in the ISM intensity are in-phase with the precession-induced changes in the Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. The 813CSOM (-27.4%o to -22.3%o, average -25.3%o) indicates C3-dominated vegetation in the Himalayan catchment with a noticeable increase in 813CSOM during late MIS 4 to early MIS 3, late MIS 3, and early MIS 1 periods, which are characterized by the intense ISM (warm and moist condition). This suggests an increased abundance of C4 plants during the periods of intensified ISM precipitation. The 813C of carbonate nodules varies from -3.63%o to 1.56%o (average -1.55%o). The enrichment in 13C of the carbonates is most likely due to the influence of dissolved inorganic carbon derived from the Himalayan source and/or atmospheric CO2 on the carbonate nodules. Therefore, we suggest that the 813C of carbonate nodules from the Indo-Gangetic Plain requires a careful evaluation.