Upasana Swaroop Banerji

Ministry of Earth Sciences | MoES · Geosciences

Climate driven changes have been identif ied in various ecosystems on earth and they result in either species adaptation or eradication. In order to get insight into such changes, it is necessary to assess their magni-tude and rate which will lead to know the gravity of the threats on an ecosystem if any. The Gulf of Kachchh was considered as an ar...

The heat transfer from the low latitudes to high latitudes is responsible to maintain the earth’s climatic equilibrium. Thus, deciphering the possible mechanism driving the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) variability during the Holocene Epoch, has been critical to understand the hydroclimatic changes of the low latitudes. Despite several efforts the te...

Investigating the geochemical composition of bulk sediments stands as a crucial method for unraveling the complexities of various sedimentary processes. However, the intricacies arising from extensive dataset and alterations in sediment due to diverse factors often impede the clear identification of underlying patterns in geochemical fluctuations....

I on behalf of all guest editors, invite all geoscience community to contribute the articles in the proposed special issue on "AI/ML in Earth System Sciences" to be published in a peer-reviewed journal of the Journal of Earth System Science with an impact factor of 2.045. It will provide a unique opportunity for young and experienced researchers to...

Corals provide high-resolution radiocarbon record of the surface ocean. These high-resolution records can provide understanding of the surface ocean conditions and processes regulating these conditions. A Porites coral from the Andaman Sea was investigated for its high-resolution radiocarbon record between 2007 and 2014. The radiocarbon measurement...

The geochemical and isotopic composition of sediments is a function of the rock composition from where the sediment has been derived. Deconvoluting the sediment source is of prime significance for understanding several geological processes operative on the earth’s surface. Since, the significance of provenance was realised, it has been decoded thro...

The sediments have been a ubiquitous archive for the paleoclimate reconstruction while the marine sediments are considered to be serene and mostly undisturbed from the anthropogenic encroachments. Unlike continental records, the deep-sea sediments elucidated the evidence of at least 50 glacial and interglacial stages during the Quaternary Period an...

Detrital zircons are frequently used for crustal evolutionary studies as they sample vast regions of the continental crust. In the present study, we utilise newly compiled U-Pb detrital zircon data from the Indian subcontinent as well as a compilation of previously reported global data along with Hf isotopes of modern and ancient sediments in order...

Reliable estimation of ages and temporal correlations through the Quaternary Period (<2.58 Myr) have led to a better understanding of past paleoclimatic changes. Various dating techniques applicable through the Quaternary have received significant impetus from the paleoclimate community for high-resolution paleoclimatic reconstructions that are sup...

The widespread Early Holocene sea-level rise observed along the global coastal realms reinvigorated the need to decipher sea-level variability on a local and regional scale, yet limited attempts were made on simultaneously addressing sea-level and climate variability. The southwest coast of India is endowed with several geomorphic features providin...

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) is a semi-enclosed basin located in the north-eastern Indian Ocean that receives enormous fluvial sediment input primarily from the Himalayan and the peninsular rivers depending on the Indian monsoon intensities. The seasonal reversal of monsoonal currents over the northern Indian ocean leads to the Indian monsoon which vari...

Corals growing in shallow oceanic regions record the radiocarbon variations in ocean surface waters. Tracing bomb radiocarbon in various carbon reservoirs, can help understand the pathways and rates of carbon exchange between the different reservoirs. The northern Indian Ocean comprising two adjoining basins the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal de...

The lake sediments received wide attention for archiving paleoclimate and paleo sea-level variability during the late Quaternary period. It has also been extensively used to disentangle the interrelationships existing among the regional and the global climate systems. In the present study, the applicability of lake sediments has been the major impe...

Indian monsoon significantly influences the sea surface conditions in the northern Indian Ocean. Corals growing in shallow waters record such monsoon-induced surface water changes. The record of monsoon signatures in the stable isotopic composition of the Porites corals from the Lakshadweep Islands, off the coast of Southwestern India, has been inv...

The Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) is one of the prime components of atmospheric circulation which plays a major role in regulating the global climate system.The Indian subcontinent is influenced by the ISM that determines the socio-economics and agricultural productivity of India by contributing >70% of rainfall over the country. There has been pleni...

Holocene Monsoon And Sea-Level Variability in the Coastal Lowland Sediments Of Kerala, SW India

Over the past three decades, the advent of sophisticated imaging, in-situ measurements as well as data deconvolution techniques led to remarkable progress in the field of heavy mineral research. The prevalence of zircon in a wide range of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks has been used frequently in estimating provenance, depositional age,...

The high frequency of climate instability for the late Pleistocene has revealed the recurrence of Dansgaard–Oeschger (D/O)and Heinrich (H) events. During the Holocene period, the Ice Rafted Debris from the North Atlantic was identified as the Bond event (BE) and were considered to be the equivalent of D/O cycles. The BE has been numbered from 0 to...

Heavy metal accumulation in soils, and subsequently, in vegetation by long-term wastewater irrigation has a potentially detrimental effect on humans via their transfer along the food chain. In this reconnaissance study the effects of wastewater irrigation on the accumulation of heavy metals (Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) in soils and vegetables fr...

The climate variability over western India has been significantly influenced by the perturbations in the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and thus, provides a crucial platform to investigate the paleomonsoon variations, weathering intensity, and sediment source. The mudflats of southern Saurashtra, western India are deprived of perennial rivers, but the...

The discovery of radioactivity in the early 20th century led to the development of several radiometric dating methods (e.g., Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, Re-Os, U-Pb, etc.). These radiometric dating methods are frequently used in earth science studies to constrain the deposition/formation timing of various natural archives (e.g., bulk rocks, minerals, carbonaceou...

Several cores from the continental shelf of the Arabian Sea along the Indian Coast were investigated for change in sedimentation rates duly constrained for chronology based on 210Pb and 137Cs dating techniques. The emphasis was to look for spatial and temporal variation in the sedimentation rate along the continental shelf of eastern Arabian Sea be...

The Kerala coast displays a spectrum of varied geomorphic features that are evolved as a function of Late Quaternary land-sea interaction. The southern Kerala coast, south of Achankovil Shear Zone (ASZ) has been characterised by cliffed coast with entrenched estuarine basins, pocket beaches, promontories, older and younger strand plains, etc., that...

The response of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) to forcing factors and climate variables has not yet fully explored, even though the ISM plays a pivotal role in the socio-economics of the Indian subcontinent and nearby areas. The ISM progression over Indian landmass is a manifestation of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) migration over the...

Unlike Glacial- Interglacial periods, the Holocene period is seldom known for any drastic climate and sea level changes and thus has been a prime focus for investigating the interplay land-sea level vacillations. Sea level has fluctuated more or less at the present level during mid-Holocene Period and hence local sea level variability should be con...

The coastal tract of Saurashtra has been primarily controlled by sea-level changes and neo-tectonism thereby preserving coastal geomorphic features such as tidal notches, intertidal platforms and relict mudflats underscoring the interplay of sea-level and tectonics for the present coastal configuration. In a recent paper, Prizomwala (Arab J Geosci...

The limited extent of instrumental records going back in time and control of various climatic variables on Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) has reinvigorated the unprecedented effort in documenting climate changes for the last two millennia. Although extensive studies on late Holocene ISM reconstruction are available, comprehensive understanding on the...

Indian summer monsoon (ISM) is critical to understand the global hydrological and carbon cycles and acts as a major driving force of earth's climate system. Paleoclimatic evidences however, suggests episodic weakening and intensification of ISM in the past since its initiation. The weather system and socio-economy of Indian subcontinent depends on...

We provide the first continuous Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) climate record for the higher Himalayas (Kedarnath, India) by analyzing a ¹⁴C-dated peat sequence covering the last ~8000 years, with ~50 years temporal resolution. The ISM variability inferred using various proxies reveal striking similarity with the Greenland ice core (GISP2) temperature...

The last two millennia have been an critical period to document climate perturbation for the evaluation of anthropogenic interferences and prediction of future climate changes. Increased availability of proxy data set has helped in better understanding of climatic events especially Medieval warm period (MWP) and Little Ice age (LIA) (Lamb, 1965), i...

The lakes of the Himalaya are degrading due to increase in toxic heavy metal loading. This study reports the last 50-year heavy metal pollution loading in the Rewalsar Lake, Himachal Pradesh, India. Sediment cores were recovered to study the pollution loading in the lake sediments. The ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb isotope-based sedimentation rate suggest rapid...

The mid-late Holocene period is seldom known for any drastic climatic perturbations, but witnessed significant anthropogenic growth and thus has been a subject of scientific importance. In this study, sediment core raised from an active mudflat of Diu Island, Southern Saurashtra coast, Gujarat with a climatic history for the last 4000 yr BP has bee...

Coastal lagoons form the most productive regions, in addition to receiving sediments from terrestrial and anthropogenic sources. High productivity results in oxygen deficiency thereby forming reducing conditions in the water column and sediment water interface. The present study is an attempt to reconstruct paleoredox conditions that persisted in...

Holocene period is well-known for its extreme climatic perturbation while an increased interest in documenting climate alteration during last two millennium has been observed due to the influence of both natural and anthropogenic factors. Globally, the climate of last two millennia has been tremendously studied and five climatic periods has been su...

The last two centuries witnessed extreme anthropogenic interferences along with natural short term climate perturbations. The coastal marine sediments not only provides high resolution record of climatic variation but also represents natural repository of land-sea interaction. The coastal sediment record also archives the affect of anthropogenic hi...

The pristine Himalayan lakes are under threat due to higher sedimentation, ecological degradation and pollution, especially due to human interference. The higher sedimentation reduces the depth and size of these lakes. This study is aimed at understanding the last ~50 year’s record of sedimentation and its shift in rates in the Rewalsar Lake, Himac...

The resilience of an ecosystem is defined as the ability to resist the changing environmental conditions. It shows the potential of an ecosystem to cope up with the disturbances lasting after adverse changes. In case of corals, such changes are evident by alteration in the patterns of growth, calcification, morphology and reproduction. The focus of...