Abstract
Stable carbon isotope ratios of organic carbon from palaeosols in loess, and oxygen isotope ratios of pedogenic and lacustrine carbonates reveal significant Pleistocene climatic changes in the Kashmir basin. The extreme δ13C values of −16 and −25‰ reported here indicate a shift from arid to sub-humid conditions. The δ18O values of pedogenic carbonates is ∼2‰ higher than that of the underlying lacustrine carbonates, suggesting that they were deposited in different climatic conditions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
De Terra & Paterson, T. T. Studies on the Ice Age in India and Associated Human Cultures (Carnegie Institute, Washington, 1939).
Bhatt, D. K. Himalayan Geol. 6, 197–208 (1976).
Agrawal, D. P. et al. Acta geol hung. 22, 185–196 (1979).
Pant, R. K., Agrawal, D. P. & Krishnamurthy, R. V. in Scanning Electron Microscopy in the Study of Sediments (ed. Whalley, W. B.) (Geo Abstracts, Norwich, 1978).
Kukla, G. Trans. Nebraska Acad. Sci. 6, 57–93 (1978).
Lazarenko, A. A. The Neogene Quaternary Boundary (Geological Institute of Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1980).
Lomov, S. P. The Neogene Quaternary Boundary (Geological Institute of Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1980).
Smith, B. N. & Epstein, S. Pl. Physiol. 47, 380–384 (1971).
Deines, P. in Handbk of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry: The Terrestrial Environment A (eds Fritz, P. & Fontes, J. Ch.) (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1980).
O'Leary, M. H. Phytochemistry 20, 553–567 (1981).
Stump, R. K. & Frazer, J. W. Nucl. Sci. Abstr. 28, 746 (1973).
Kusumgar, S., Agrawal, D. P. & Krishnamurthy, R. V. Radiocarbon 22, 757–762 (1980).
Singh, G. & Agrawal, D. P. Nature 260, 232 (1976).
McClure, H. A. Nature 263, 755 (1976).
Sarntheim, M. & Diester-Hass, L. J. sedim. Petrol. 47, 868–889 (1977).
Bryson, R. A. & Swain, A. M. Quat. Res. 16, 135–145 (1981).
Zeist, W. Van. Palaeobot. Palynol. 2, 301–311 (1967).
Misra, V. N., Rajaguru, S. N., Raju, D. R., Raghavan, H. & Gaillard, C. Man Envir. 6, 72–86 (1982).
Report of a Committee on Climatic Change No. 21 (Australian Academy of Sciences, Canberra, 1976).
Duplessy, J. C. Nature 295, 494–498 (1982).
Epstein, S., Buchsbaum, R., Lowenstam, H. A. & Urey, H. C. Bull. Am. geol. Soc. 64, 1315–1324 (1953).
Dansgaard, W. Tellus 16, 436–468 (1964).
Schwarez, P. H., Harmon, S. R., Thompson, P., Ford, C. D. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 40, 657–665 (1976).
Cerling, T. R., Hay, R. L. & O'Neil, J. R. Nature 267, 137–138 (1977).
Magaritz, M., Kaufman, A. & Yallon, D. H. Geoderma 25, 157–172 (1981).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Krishnamurthy, R., DeNiro, M. & Pant, R. Isotope evidence for Pleistocene climatic changes in Kashmir, India. Nature 298, 640–641 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/298640a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/298640a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Paleoenvironment shifts during MIS 3: Loess and loess paleosols of Kashmir Valley, India
Journal of Earth System Science (2020)
-
Early Neolithic agriculture (2700–2000 bc) and Kushan period developments (ad 100–300): macrobotanical evidence from Kanispur in Kashmir, India
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany (2017)
-
Spatial and temporal variations of C3/C4 relative abundance in global terrestrial ecosystem since the Last Glacial and its possible driving mechanisms
Chinese Science Bulletin (2012)
-
Study on modern plant C-13 in western China and its significance
Chinese Journal of Geochemistry (2003)
-
Isotopic evidence for holocene climatic changes in Bosten Lake, Southern Xinjiang, China
Chinese Geographical Science (1998)