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Palynological Perspective on Understanding Climate Change in India Over the Pre-industrial Common Era (CE; Past Ca. 2000 Years): a Comprehensive Review and a Critical Evaluation

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Applications of Palynology in Stratigraphy and Climate Studies

Part of the book series: Society of Earth Scientists Series ((SESS))

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Abstract

Palynology (and pollen analysis) has proven to be a reliable tool in reconstructing the past vegetation (dynamics) and contemporary climatic changes. The chapter reviews the role of pollen in reconstructing the palaeoclimate in India over the pre-industrial Common Era (CE; past ca. 2000 years [2 ka]; past 2 millennia; Late Holocene), comprising the global climatic events, such as the Roman Warm Period (RWP), Dark Ages Cold Period (DACP), Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), Little Ice Age (LIA) and the Current Warm Period (CWP). In addition, the hydro-climatic variability, which influences the socio-economic welfare of one-third of the human population through the agricultural output and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of this densely-populated country, are also analyzed. This chapter also discusses the solar forcing and the other forcing factors behind the hydroclimatic variability during the past 2 millennia in India.

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Acknowledgements

I am thankful to Dr. (Mrs.) Vandana Prasad, Director, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, India for providing the infrastructure facilities to complete the review work, and also for the permission to publish. Thanks are also due to Dr. Bandana Samant, Professor, P.G. Department of Geology, R.T.M. Nagpur University, Nagpur, India for the invitation to contribute this review article as a chapter in the book entitled “Application of palynology in stratigraphy and climate studies” published by the Springer, Switzerland, and edited by her. 

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  1. Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, 226007, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Mohammad Firoze Quamar

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  1. Mohammad Firoze Quamar
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Correspondence to Mohammad Firoze Quamar .

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  1. Postgraduate Department of Geology, RTM Nagpur University, Nagpur, India

    Bandana Samant

  2. Postgraduate Department of Geology, RTM Nagpur University, Nagpur, India

    Deepali Thakre

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Quamar, M.F. (2024). Palynological Perspective on Understanding Climate Change in India Over the Pre-industrial Common Era (CE; Past Ca. 2000 Years): a Comprehensive Review and a Critical Evaluation. In: Samant, B., Thakre, D. (eds) Applications of Palynology in Stratigraphy and Climate Studies. Society of Earth Scientists Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51877-5_7

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