Dynamics of Climate Change and Water Resources of Northwestern Himalaya


Book Description

This book is about the Himalayan ranges as a source of fresh water supply and a perennial store house of ice, snow and permafrost as well as a vast repository of rich biodiversity, in the light of climate change. Special attention is given to the dynamics of snow and glaciers in the northwestern Himalayas, assessment of climate change patterns, and the consequences of changes and flow regime in order to understand the behaviour of climate change in the northwestern Himalayas. The outcome of melting glaciers are pro-glacial lakes. Their increasing size and potential danger of outbursts requires systematic study, particularly where there is the risk of impact on life and property. Furthermore, the changing trend of the hydrological cycle on a regional or local scale is another area of research which calls for the attention of geoscientists. To date there is a scarcity of reliable data meaning that a concerted effort is still required by all parties.




Holocene Climate Change and Environment


Book Description

Holocene Climate Change and Environment presents detailed, diverse case studies from a range of environmental and geological regions on the Indian subcontinent which occupies the central part of the monsoon domain. This book examines Holocene events at different time intervals based on a new, high-resolution, multi-proxy records (pollen, spores, NPP, diatoms, grain size characteristics, total organic carbon, carbon/nitrogen ratio, stable isotopes) and other physical tools from all regions of India. It also covers new facilities in chronological study and luminescence dating, which have added a new dimension toward understanding the Holocene glacial retreats evolution of coastal landforms, landscape dynamics and human evolution. Each chapter is presented with a unified structure for ease of access and application, including an introduction, geographic details, field work and sampling techniques, methods, results and discussion. This detailed examination of such an important region provides key insights in climate modeling and global prediction systems. - Provides data and research from environmentally and geologically diverse regions across the Indian subcontinent - Presents an integrated and interdisciplinary approach, including considerations of human impacts - Features detailed case studies that include methods and data, allowing for applications related to research and global modeling




High Resolution Palaeoclimatic Changes in Selected Sectors of the Indian Himalaya by Using Speleothems


Book Description

This thesis encompasses a study of past precipitation patterns based on six cave stalagmites from different parts of the Indian Himalaya. This is the first speleothem study in the Indian Himalaya that shows a direct relationship between past precipitation and the collapse of civilization. The stalagmites examined were KL-3 from Jammu and Kashmir; TCS and BR-1 from Himachal Pradesh; and DH-1, SA-1 and CH-1 from Uttarakhand. Based on the high-resolution palaeoclimatic reconstruction (35 U/th dates, 5 AMS dates, 1,500 samples for δ18O and δ13C values) obtained for the duration of the Pleistocene–Holocene transition (16.2–9.5 ka BP) and Mid-Holocene–Present (ca. 4.0 ka BP–Present), three major events were identified, namely the Older Dryas (OD), Bølling–Allerød (BA) period and Younger Dryas (YD) at ca. 14.3–13.9, 13.9–12.7 and 12.7–12.2 ka BP, respectively. The study showed a gradual reduction in the precipitation from 4 ka BP onwards for about a millennium with a peak arid period between 3.2 and 3.1 ka BP. According to the findings, the LIA (Little Ice Age) covers a time span from 1622–1820 AD, during which the climate was wetter than that in the post-LIA period (1820–1950 AD). In addition, this thesis supports the assumption that the WDs (Western Disturbances) contribute significantly to the total rainfall in the Himalaya region.




Late Quaternary Climate Change and Human Adaptation in Arid China


Book Description

Due to political pressures, prior to the 1990s little was known about the nature of human foraging adaptations in the deserts, grasslands, and mountains of north western China during the last glacial period. Even less was known about the transition to agriculture that followed. Now open to foreign visitation, there is now an increasing understanding of the foraging strategies which led both to the development of millet agriculture and to the utilization of the extreme environments of the Tibetan Plateau. This text explores the transition from the foraging societies of the Late Paleolithic to the emergence of settled farming societies and the emergent pastoralism of the middle Neolithic striving to help answer the diverse and numerous questions of this critical transitional period.* Examines the transition from foraging societies of the Late Paleolithic to the emergence of settled farming societies and the emergent pastoralism of the middle Neolithic* Explores explanatory models for the links between climate change and cultural change that may have influenced the development of millet agriculture* Reviews the relationship between climate change and population expansions and contraditions during the late Quaternary




Climate Change and the White World


Book Description

This book showcases the results of studies pertaining to climate changes in the Polar Regions - Arctic-Antarctic-Himalaya. It discusses the significant variations due to thinning of sea ice in the Arctic, insights on the first Indian Arctic multi-sensor mooring (IndARC), political context of major geological and tectonic features of Arctic Ocean, climate change and its predicted impacts on fisheries and coastal communities. The book also contains the work pursued under the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystems, aiming towards strengthening the capacities of farmers through appropriate Lab-to-Land intervention to combat climate change issues. Discussions on various models like WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting), Regional Climate Model (RegCM4) pertaining to Himalaya have been highlighted to gain more insights on climate change.




Climate Change


Book Description

This book provides the world community with the most up-to-date and comprehensive scientific and technical knowledge based on climate change impact assessment, adaptation and mitigation strategies in the Indian Himalayan region. It identifies major issues related to climate change on environmental sustainability, focusing on impact measurement, policy, adaptation and mitigation strategies at national, regional and local scales. There is a need to strengthen the global response in order to cope with the threat of climate change. The main objective of this book is to update the understanding of scientific analysis and to promote evidence-based policy formulation at regional and local levels. This book on climate change is used as a reference material to climate change for new learners interested in the mountainous region of the Indian Himalayas. This comprehensive book covers a wide range of potential research areas including climate change scenarios, science and its applications, adaptation to climate change theory and assessment, water resources, agriculture, human health, forest, biodiversity, ecosystems, indigenous knowledge, etc.




Quaternary Glaciations - Extent and Chronology


Book Description

The book presents an up-to-date, detailed overview of the Quaternary glaciations all over the world, not only with regard to stratigraphy but also with regard to major glacial landforms and the extent of the respective ice sheets. The locations of key sites are included. The information is presented in digital, uniformly prepared maps which can be used in a Geographical Information System (GIS) such as ArcView or ArcGIS. The accompanying text supplies the information on how the data were obtained (geomorphology, geological mapping, air photograph evaluation, satellite imagery), how the features were dated (14C, TL, relative stratigraphy) and how reliable they are supposed to be. All references to the underlying basic publications are included. Where controversial interpretations are possible e.g. in Siberia or Tibet, this is pointed out. As a result, the information on Quaternary glaciations worldwide will be much improved and supplied in a uniform digital format. The information on the glacial limits is compiled in digital form by the coordinators of the project, and is available for download at: http://booksite.elsevier.com/9780444534477/ Completely updated detailed coverage of worldwide Quaternary glaciations Information in digital, uniformly prepared maps which can be used in a GIS such as ArcView or ArcGis Step-by-step guideline how to open and use ArcGis files Possibility to convert the shapefiles into GoogleEarth kmz-files Availability of chronological controls




Landscapes and Landforms of India


Book Description

The proposed monograph on 'Geomorphological Landscapes of India' will aim to describe and explain in simple words the geomorphological characteristics and the origin of the above-mentioned landforms and landscapes. The proposed monograph will provide the background information about the geology, climate and tectonic framework of the Indian region, as well as cover Indian climates of the present and the past. It will mainly cover the four main morphotectonic regions of India and about 15-20 distinct landforms of the Indian region as well as the major geomorphosites in India.




The Himalayan Cryosphere:


Book Description

The Himalaya mountains contain not only one of the largest concentrations of ice outside the polar regions, but contribute to the hydrological requirements of large populations spread over seven nations. The exceptionally high elevations of this low-latitude cryosphere presents a natural laboratory and archives to study climate–tectonics interactions as well as regional v. global climate influences. The existing base-level data on the Himalayan cryosphere are highly variable. Several climate fluctuations occurred during the late Quaternary (MIS1–MIS5, especially the last c. 100 ka), which led to the evolution of the Himalayan landscape. Detailed studies of these archives, along with those of the present cryosphere and related hydrosphere, are essential for understanding the controls on present and future hydrology of the glacial-fed mountain rivers. This volume, a follow-up of the XII International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Science, Goa (A SCAR symposium), provides new data from locales spread over the entire Himalaya region and from Tibet. It provides a glimpse of the late Quaternary cryosphere, as well as a discussion in the last section on sustainability in the context of geohazard mitigations as well as the hydrological budget.




Geomorphological Hazards and Disaster Prevention


Book Description

A state-of-the-art assessment of how geomorphology contributes to the comprehension, mapping and modelling of hazardous Earth surface processes.