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Proxy Climatic Records of Past Monsoons

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Observed Climate Variability and Change over the Indian Region

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Abstract

We summarize the current knowledge about the Indian monsoon variations in the past using only those monsoon proxies which can be dated unambiguously with a high resolution (tree rings and speleothems) and those which are quantifiable with associated uncertainties. The quantification is done based on the amount effect observed in the tropics. The stable oxygen isotopic composition of rain decreases by ~1.5 ‰ for an increase in the monthly rainfall of 100 mm. Monsoon fluctuations have been documented from teak trees in Kerala for the last 553 years and quantified for the last 330 years from a stalagmite that grew in Ulvi, northern Karnataka. Marine sediments from the eastern Arabian Sea and speleothems from Central India clearly show that the monsoon rainfall has been steadily increasing during the Holocene (the last ~10,000 years). The quantified rainfall data are presented with associated uncertainties.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to ISRO-GBP for funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Research Laboratory, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, 380009, India

    R. Ramesh, S. Band & M. G. Yadava

  2. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Earth System Science Organization, Pune, Maharashtra, 410008, India

    H. Boragaonkar

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  1. R. Ramesh
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Correspondence to R. Ramesh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    M. N. Rajeevan

  2. Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Shailesh Nayak

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Ramesh, R., Boragaonkar, H., Band, S., Yadava, M.G. (2017). Proxy Climatic Records of Past Monsoons. In: Rajeevan, M., Nayak, S. (eds) Observed Climate Variability and Change over the Indian Region. Springer Geology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2531-0_15

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