Centre for Climate Change Research

Other

Paleoclimate

Reconstructed past rainfall variability using isotopic analysis
Studied isotopic fractionation of monsoon rainwater, a precursor for speleothem analysis has been used to investigate moisture transport processes. This has implications for paleoclimatic reconstructions.
Vertical profiles of oxygen isotopes in ocean water samples from Bay of Bengal provide useful information about water masses.
Using isotopic analysis of tree rings, past pCO2 variations and soil water isotopic composition for the past one century have been estimated.
Reconstructed past rainfall variability, using isotopic analysis of speleothems (Kadappa caves, Andhra Pradesh), during ~ 1200 BC - 300 AD (approx 1500 years) at near annual resolution. Additionally speleothems from Andaman Islands have been dated, and is expected to yield rainfall variability over the last 600 years. Further work is ongoing.