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Pattern of dune accretion and its climatic implication in the southern Thar Desert margin, western India

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Abstract

The present study summarizes the existing chronometric data of fossil dunes preserved in the southern Thar Desert margin (STM). The objective is to understand the episodes of dune accretion and causes of their spatial and temporal variability along the precipitation gradient. Based on the published ages, the study identifies three major phases of dune accretion. The oldest phase-I is dated between ~25 and 17 ka (MIS-2); the second short-lived phase-II between ~15 and 12 ka, whereas the phase-III occurred between 10 and 5 ka. The second phase terminates with the deposition of fluvially reworked aeolian sand which has the presence of microlithic artifacts and corresponds to the early Holocene strengthened Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM). The study suggests that during phase-I and II, the terrain witnessed a significant reduction in the ISM for which a more southerly position of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is implicated. During phase-III, an oscillating ISM with overall declining trend is attributed to mid-late Holocene minor fluctuations in the ITCZ (probably proximal to modern summer position). A conspicuous absence of dune building in the northern Thar Desert during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is ascribed to the prevalence of hyper-arid conditions in comparison to the relatively moist conditions in the STM due to its proximity to the Arabian Sea. After ~15 ka, both the STM and the Thar Desert show a broad synchroneity and that coincides with the gradual strengthening of the ISM.

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taken from Lancaster et al. (2015). (C, D) are the marine proxies, and (E) is the continental proxy used to infer the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) strength. The enhanced ISM is represented by more negative δ18O values and higher Total Organic Carbon (TOC). (G, J) panels show the inferred climate from various proxies in the Thar Desert and the STM.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to the editor, and three anonymous reviewers for their critical comments and suggestions which helped in improving the manuscript. Prof Nicholas Lancaster is acknowledged for sharing the digital database of the dune chronology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221 005, India

    Shubhra Sharma

  2. Institute of Seismological Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382 009, India

    Falguni Bhattacharya

  3. Department of Earth and Environmental Science, K. S. K. V. Kachchh University, Bhuj, 370 001, India

    Gaurav Chauhan

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  1. Shubhra Sharma
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  2. Falguni Bhattacharya
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  3. Gaurav Chauhan
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Contributions

Shubhra Sharma conceived the idea, wrote the manuscript with contribution from all the authors. Specifically, Falguni Bhattacharya did the statistical analysis and contributed to the relevant section. Gaurav Chauhan helped in compiling the data and figures.

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Correspondence to Shubhra Sharma.

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Communicated by Navin Juyal

Supplementary material pertaining to this article is available on the Journal of Earth System Science website (http://www.ias.ac.in/Journals/Journal_of_Earth_System_Science).

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Sharma, S., Bhattacharya, F. & Chauhan, G. Pattern of dune accretion and its climatic implication in the southern Thar Desert margin, western India. J Earth Syst Sci 130, 115 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-021-01620-3

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