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Vegetation history and sea level variations during the last 13,500 years inferred from a pollen record at Chilika Lake, Orissa, India

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Abstract

Chilika Lake is the largest lagoon in Asia, situated in the state of Orissa in India. In the year 2000, many surface samples and cores were taken. Here the lithological results and especially those of the pollen analysis are shown. The oldest sediments of core CHI 9 were dated at about 13,500 cal years b.p. At this time the area of Chilika Lake was a river or a river delta with fresh water vegetation. With the increase in the sea level after about 9,500 cal years b.p. the area became an estuary with mangrove vegetation. Small variations in the sea level between about 5,000 and 2,500 cal years b.p. are not visible in our pollen profile. However the regression after about 2,000 cal years b.p. caused the formation of a barrier spit and sand ridges with the consequence that a big lagoon was formed, Chilika Lake. Marine influence diminished and the fresh water impact from the rivers increased. Mangrove vegetation disappeared and was replaced by fresh water vegetation.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Dr. N. C. Mehrotra, Director, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow for encouragement. The authors are indebted to Mechthild Gaertner for her financial support and her zeal, and help during the field work at Chilika Lake. The authors are also thankful to Mrs. Indra Goel, BSIP, Lucknow for technical assistance. We thank Olaf Buettner, UFZ Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig Halle, Department of Inland Water Research Magdeburg, Germany, for the assistance during the preparation of the map of Chilika Lake. We thank the two reviewers F. Bittmann and L. Dupont for their critical comments and their help to improve the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Burkhard W. Scharf

    Present address: , Ellhornstr. 21, 28195, Bremen, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 53, University Road, Lucknow, 226007, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Asha Khandelwal

  2. Department of Geology, Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar, 751004, Orissa, India

    Manmohan Mohanti

  3. Seccion Oceanología, Facultad de Ciencias, Igua 4225, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Felipe García-Rodríguez

  4. Department of Inland Water Research Magdeburg, UFZ Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig Halle, Leipzig, Germany

    Burkhard W. Scharf

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  1. Asha Khandelwal
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  2. Manmohan Mohanti
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  3. Felipe García-Rodríguez
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  4. Burkhard W. Scharf
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Asha Khandelwal.

Additional information

Communicated by F. Bittmann.

This paper is dedicated to Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Beug on his 75th birthday.

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Khandelwal, A., Mohanti, M., García-Rodríguez, F. et al. Vegetation history and sea level variations during the last 13,500 years inferred from a pollen record at Chilika Lake, Orissa, India. Veget Hist Archaeobot 17, 335–344 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-007-0127-5

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