Abstract:
A better understanding of past variations of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM), that plays a vital role for
the still largely agro-based economy in India, can lead to a better assessment of its potential impact
under global climate change scenarios. However, our knowledge of spatiotemporal patterns of ISM
strength is limited due to the lack of high-resolution, continental paleohydrological records. Here, we
reconstruct centennial-scale hydrological variability during the Holocene associated to changes in the
intensity of the ISM based on a record of lipid biomarker abundances and compound-specific stable
isotopic composition of a 10 m long sediment core from salineealkaline Lonar Lake, situated in the core
‘monsoon zone’ of central India.
We identified three main periods of distinct hydrology during the Holocene in central India. The period
between 10.1 and 6 cal ka BP was likely the wettest during the Holocene. Lower average chain length
(ACL) index values (29.4e28.6) and negative d13Cwax values ( 34.8‰ to 27.8‰) of leaf wax n-alkanes
indicate the dominance of woody C3 vegetation in the catchment, and negative dDwax values (concentration
weighted average) ( 171‰ to 147‰) suggest a wet period due to an intensified monsoon. After
6 cal ka BP, a gradual shift to less negative d13Cwax values (particularly for the grass derived n-C31) and
appearance of the triterpene lipid tetrahymanol, generally considered as a marker for salinity and water
column stratification, mark the onset of drier conditions. At 5.1 cal ka BP an increasing flux of leaf wax nalkanes
along with the highest flux of tetrahymanol indicate a major lowering of the lake level. Between
4.8 and 4 cal ka BP, we find evidence for a transition to arid conditions, indicated by high and strongly
variable tetrahymanol flux. In addition, a pronounced shift to less negative d13Cwax values, in particular
for n-C31 ( 25.2‰ to 22.8‰), during this period indicates a change of dominant vegetation to C4
grasses. In agreement with other proxy data, such as deposition of evaporite minerals, we interpret this
period to reflect the driest conditions in the region during the last 10.1 ka. This transition led to protracted
late Holocene arid conditions after 4 ka with the presence of a permanent saline lake, supported
by the sustained presence of tetrahymanol and more positive average dDwax values ( 122‰ to 141‰).
A late Holocene peak of cyanobacterial biomarker input at 1.3 cal ka BP might represent an event of lake
eutrophication, possibly due to human impact and the onset of cattle/livestock farming in the catchment.
A unique feature of our record is the presence of a distinct transitional period between 4.8 and 4 cal ka
BP, which was characterized by some of the most negative dDwax values during the Holocene (up
to 180‰), when all other proxy data indicate the driest conditions during the Holocene. These negative
dDwax values can as such most reasonably be explained by a shift in moisture source area and/or
pathways or rainfall seasonality during this transitional period. We hypothesize that orbital induced
weakening of the summer solar insolation and associated reorganization of the general atmospheric
circulation, as a possible southward displacement of the tropical rainbelt, led to an unstable hydroclimate
in central India between 4.8 and 4 ka.
Our findings shed light onto the sequence of changes during mean state changes of the monsoonal
system, once an insolation driven threshold has been passed, and show that small changes in solar
insolation can be associated with major hydroclimate changes on the continents, a scenario that may be
relevant with respect to future changes in the ISM system.