Tectono-climatic signatures during Late Quaternary in the Yunam basin, Baralacha Pass (upper Lahaul valley, India), derived from multi-proxy records

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Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e11

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Tectono-climatic signatures during Late Quaternary in the Yunambasin, Baralacha Pass (upper Lahaul valley, India), derived frommulti-proxy records

Archna Bohra a, *, Bahadur Singh Kotlia b

a Centre for Glaciology, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, 248001, Indiab Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, Kumaun University, Nainital, 263002, India

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Available online xxx

Keywords:Kilang SaraiPalaeolakeMulti-proxy studyPleistoceneeHolocene

* Corresponding author.E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Bohr

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.0231040-6182/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights

Please cite this article in press as: Bohra, A.,(upper Lahaul valley, India), derived from m

a b s t r a c t

This study provides evidence of the monsoon record over the past 25 ka from the Kilang Sarai palaeolakewhich is located in NW Himalaya in the rain shadow zone of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM). Themulti-proxy study by using geomorphology, carbon isotopes, mineral magnetism, clay mineralogy andelemental chemistry of a 8 m thick laminated lacustrine sediments indicates that the area experiencedfluctuating precipitation conditions during the last 25 ka. The time period between 12 and 5 ka BP can beregarded as a very wet interval of the Last Glacial to mid Holocene due to a combined effect of ISM andWesterlies, followed by aridity after 5 ka BP. Tectonic triggers may have caused the development ofterraces and closure of lake. At the millennial time scale, a correlation of precipitation and vegetationalchanges between our data and other records from similar geographical settings suggests that Kilang Saraibasin responded to periods of strengthening in precipitation during the Last Glacial to early Holocene.

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The landscape evolution in the Indian Himalaya is highlyinfluenced by both the tectonics and climate (Kotlia et al., 2000,2010; Barnard et al., 2001; Prasad and Enzel, 2006). In this re-gion, the nature of climate depends on the pressure gradient be-tween ocean and land and seasonal migration of the IntertropicalConvergence Zone (ITCZ) (Colin et al., 1998; McGregor andNieuwolt, 1998). The eastewest alignment of the Himalayanmountain chain forms a formidable physical barrier between thetropical and polar air masses and thus controls the northwardextension of the ISM. During summer, the high mountains do notallow the equatorial maritime air masses from the Indian Ocean tocross Himalaya and thus force them to curve round to north-west.During winters, the mountains obstruct the penetration of coldpolar air masses from Siberia into the Indian subcontinent. How-ever, until now, it remains unclear to what extent monsoonalmoisture has affected the interior of the Himalaya during the LastGlacial and Holocene intervals (e.g., Prell and Kutzbach, 1992).

The Himalaya has experienced three major tectonic activities atca. 35, 21 and 10 ka BP resulting in blockage of rivers and formation

a).

reserved.

Kotlia, B.S., Tectono-climatic sulti-proxy records, Quaternar

of lakes (Kotlia et al., 2008, 2010) or intensified river dischargeswith huge sediment load (Bookhagen et al., 2005). These ancientlakes contain important information of past climatic change oncentennial to millennial timescales. Several studies have been car-ried out to reconstruct the past climatic and environmentalchanges using palaeo-lacustrine deposits from the Indian Himalaya(e.g., Bagati et al., 1996; Kotlia et al., 1997a,b, 1998a, 2000, 2008,2010; Phadtare, 2000; Shukla et al., 2002; Phartiyal et al., 2003,2005; Rühland et al., 2006; Sangode and Mazari, 2007). However,only a few records cover the Late Glacial and Holocene intervals,representing the palaeoclimatic history of areas adjacent to Ladakh(Fort et al., 1989; Gasse et al., 1991; Kotlia et al., 1998b; Chakrabortyet al., 2006; Wünnemann et al., 2008, 2010; Demske et al., 2009;Leipe et al., 2014a,b) and the western part of Tibetan Plateau (VanCampo and Gasse, 1993, 1996; Fontes et al., 1996 and therein).The Late Quaternary tectonic activity has also played a considerablerole in formation of palaeo-lacustrine deposits in the Lahaul andSpiti and surrounding areas (Bhargava, 1990; Bagati and Thakur,1993; Phartiyal et al., 2005, 2009a,b; Singh and Jain, 2007; Anoopet al., 2013; Bohra et al., 2014).

In this study, we present a 25 ka record from the lake sequence,exposed at Kilang Sarai along the Yunam River (32� 490N: 77� 270E,altitude 4,573 m asl), north of Baralacha Pass (Fig. 1). The laminatedsequence was studied with respect to precipitation variability by

ignatures during Late Quaternary in the Yunam basin, Baralacha Passy International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.023

Fig. 1. SRTM image showing the location of study site (in red box) with adjacent rivers, lakes and glaciers. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, thereader is referred to the web version of this article.)

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using multi-proxy analyses such as mineral magnetism, claymineralogy, geochemistry and carbon isotopes. The study area isclimatically important because of its proximity to the glaciatedmountain ranges and/or rain shadow zone, and is influenced by thewesterly airflow (Bohra et al., 2014). The presentwork is thus aimedto evaluate various environmental proxies and to compare the re-sults with other regional climatic data during the Late Quaternary.

2. Geological background

The study site is located above the tree line, comprising of twoSEeNW trending mountain ranges, the Pir Panjal and the GreatHimalaya, which are separated by the major valley of the ChandraRiver (Fig. 1). A number of geomorphological features such asdevelopment of gorges (Fig. 2a) and canyons, sinuosity of YunamRiver (Fig. 2b), formation of river terraces, triangular fault facets,lineaments and entrenched meanders indicate that the terrain istectonically active. The Yunam River, which originates from theBaralacha Pass, flows through a number of parallel diminutivefaults (Fig. 3). Activity along these faults is also manifested by thedisplacement of country rocks. Considering that the terrain lies inthe rain shadow zone due to the orographic barrier of the HigherHimalaya, the geomorphic processes are dominated by frost action,glacial deposits, and debris fans emanating from the relict cirqueglaciers. The major lithology in the area includes quartzite, shale,sandstone, limestone and meta-sedimentary rocks of Palaeozoicand Mesozoic age (Bhargava and Bassi, 1998). The relict lake sedi-ments at Kilang Sarai (Fig. 4) extend for ~11 km and are dominatedby greyish clayey-silt and sandy horizons, capped by river gravel.

3. Materials and methods

The 8 m thick laminated lacustrine sequence (Fig. 4AeC) wassampled at an interval of 10 cm and sub-divided for various

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analyses. A total of 72 samples were subjected to mineral magne-tism, carbon isotopes (d13C), clay mineralogy and major elementalstudies. Three levels of soft sediment structures have earlier beenreported from the succession (Bohra et al., 2014).

Three organic-rich layers were subjected to radiocarbon dating(see Bohra et al., 2014). The ages were calibrated using INTCAL09 ofCalib 6.1.0 (Reimer et al., 2009). For measuring d13C, ~4 mg ofpowdered bulk sample in Ag capsule was treated twice with 20%HCl for 24 h (60 �C) to remove the carbonate. Subsequently, 1e2mgof the residue was analyzed via combustion in a CNS elementalanalyzer (Carlo Erba CN 2500), connected to an Isotope Ratio MassSpectrometer (IRMS-Optima/Micromass). Analyses of d13C and TOCwere conducted at the GeoForschungs Zentrum Potsdam, Germany.The TOC, an indirect indicator of vegetation cover and biomass, canbe related tomonsoonal intensity (Mazari et al., 1995; Selvaraj et al.,2010, 2012) and is also controlled by primary production in thelake, and preservation or degradation processes of organic matter(Rhodes et al., 1996).

Major clay minerals were measured by a Philips PW 3071 X-Raydiffractometer, Cu Ka radiation at 45 kV, 40mA atWadia Institute ofHimalayan Geology, Dehradun. Powdered bulk sample were scan-ned from 2� to 40�. Identified reflected intensities were convertedinto percentage from summation of all identified main reflexes inorder to better compare minerals with each other (Brindley andBrown, 1980). The concentrations of illite, chlorite and muscovitewere obtained in percent of the total clay assemblage.

The mineral magnetic measurements including low field massspecific susceptibility (c) and S-ratio to saturation isothermalremnant magnetisation (SIRM), [(IRM_300mT)/(SIRM1.5T)] were per-formed at Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Mumbai. The c wasmeasured on frequencies 0.47 and 4.7 khz using the BartingtonMS2B sensor. The IRM was measured on a forward fields of100e2500 mT and backward fields of 10e300 mT using an impulsemagnetizer, and the magnetic moment was measured on Molspin

ignatures during Late Quaternary in the Yunam basin, Baralacha Passy International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.023

Fig. 2. a. Photograph showing the deep gorge near study area, Yunam river and moraine deposits. b. Panoramic view of Baralacha Pass showing different topographic structures.

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Minispin Magnetometer. The ASC Scientific, D-2000 AF Demagne-tizer was used to demagnetize the samples and Molspin SpinnerMagnetometer was used to measure the intensity of anhystereticmagnetization (ARM). S-ratio was calculated from the remnantmagnetization in a negative field of 0.1 T and divided by SIRM(IRM,�0.1 T/SIRM) (Stober and Thompson, 1979). The cfd% wasestimated by using the high and low frequency susceptibility usingthe formula cfd% ¼ (clf � chf)/clf * 100 (see Thompson andOldfield, 1986).

For major oxides, 5 gm of sample powder was mixed with 2e3drops of polyvinyl alcohol solution. A hydrologic pressure of2000 kg cm�2 was used for palletizing the sample powder to makea ~3.5 mm diameter pellet with boric acid layer as backing. Sub-sequently, the pellets were kept in a hot box (60�e70 �C) overnightto drive off the excess water from the binder. Finally, the pelletswere kept inside the X-Ray fluorescence spectrophotometer foranalysis. The ratio of Al2O3/SiO2, Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA),Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW) and CaCO3, were also un-dertaken. The CIA and CIWwere obtained by applying the followingformula,

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CIA ¼ ½Al2O3=ðAl2O3 þ CaO � þ Na2Oþ K2OÞ� � 100ðNesbitt and Young; 1982Þ

CIW¼ ½Al2O3=ðAl2O3þCaO � þNa2OÞ��100 ðHarnois; 1988Þ

where, Al2O3, CaO, Na2O and K2O are in molecular proportions andAl2O3 is used as the immobile component, whereas, CaO, Na2O andK2O are the mobile components (Nesbitt and Young, 1982; Harnois,1988).

4. Response of proxies

C3 and C4 plants have average d13C values in the range of �26to �28‰ and �11 to �13‰, respectively (Smith and Epstein,1971; Selvaraj et al., 2010), with C3 plants dominating in areasof higher soil moisture (Tieszen et al., 1979; Selvaraj et al., 2012),indicating warm/wet conditions possibly due to increased pre-cipitation. At Baralacha, lower temperatures and drier climates

ignatures during Late Quaternary in the Yunam basin, Baralacha Passy International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.023

Fig. 3. Geological formations and tectonics around Yunam river (after Bagati and Suresh, 1991).

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facilitate occurrence of C4 vegetation. An increased TOC indicateswetter conditions (Talbot and Livingstone, 1989; Beuning et al.,1997) and is a sign of ongoing eutrophication (Schelske andHodell, 1995; Matzinger et al., 2007). The d13C and TOC of thestudied profile range from �22.3 to �25.1‰ and 0.06e0.16%,respectively.

Clay minerals are generally used for interpreting weatheringconditions in the source area (Hallam, 1994; Chamley, 1989, 1997;Ruffell et al., 2002; Ahlberg et al., 2003; Deconinck et al., 2003;Fürsich et al., 2005). Higher concentrations of chlorite andmuscovite mark lesser precipitation and arid conditions (Chamley,1989). Illite is produced in humid climates in higher altitudes

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(Berner, 1971; Chamley, 1989; Weaver, 1989). Low illite also sug-gests uplift (Jonathan, 1988).

The mineral magnetic properties provide information theoccurrence of iron oxides, their sensitivity to climate, depositionalsetting and transporting media (Thompson and Oldfield, 1986;Verosub and Roberts, 1995; Dekkers, 1997; Maher and Thompson,1999; Evans and Heller, 2003). Magnetic susceptibility (c) and S-ratio are affected by dilution caused by the precipitation ofdiamagnetic carbonate or aquatic growth of organic matter. Thehigher cfd indicates finer grain size under warm/humid environ-mental setting (Walden et al., 1999). The S-ratio provides a measureof relative proportions of high coercivity/hard (Haematite,

ignatures during Late Quaternary in the Yunam basin, Baralacha Passy International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.023

Fig. 4. A. Detailed succession of Kilang Sarai deposits with identified lithologies and radiocarbon dates (modeled ages are shown in italics). B. Exposed section fromwhere sedimentsamples were collected. C. Close view of the laminated sediments (after Bohra et al., 2014).

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Goethite) to low coercivity and magnetically soft (Magnetite,Greigite) magnetic minerals (Robinson, 1986; Thompson andOldfield, 1986; King and Channell, 1991; Verosub and Roberts,1995). Higher c and S-ratio indicate close relationship betweenthe erosional processes and increasing detrital titanomagneticconcentration (Williamson et al., 1998). During the drier periods,supply of detritus to the lakes is reduced and more deeply weath-ered iron oxides derived from soil material are deposited and re-flected in the form of low S-ratio.

Higher concentrations of Na, K, Fe and Ca represent arid climate(Pennington et al., 1972; Engstrom and Wright, 1984). Aluminiummay be leached from sediments as a result of low pH of lake waterand can be used as a proxy of weathering and erosion in thecatchment (Juyal et al., 2009). Low Al2O3 indicates oligotrophiccondition due to a reduced melt water discharge under arid con-ditions (Kotlia et al., 2008) and high SiO2 shows humid/wetterclimate (Newman, 1987). Higher values of Al2O3/SiO2 imply in-crease in weathering under warm climatic conditions (Newman,1987; Wehausen et al., 2003). Similarly, Al2O3/SiO2, CIA and CIW

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can be used to identify changes in weathering intensity. The highCIA suggests relatively more intense weathering from the sourcearea (Mahjoor et al., 2009).

5. Results and interpretation

5.1. Chronology

The chronology of the Kilang Sarai profile was established using14C dates on bulk sediment samples. The age depth model (adoptedfrom Bohra et al., 2014) suggests a mean sedimentation rate of31 cm/1000 y and each 10 cm sample gives an age of ~350 years.The lowermost part of the profile has an age of 25.3 ka BP (Fig. 4A).

5.2. Lithology

The Yunam River is fed by the Baralacha glacier, and is the mainsource of sediment discharge, especially during the rainy season.The study site receives its sediment input only from this river as

ignatures during Late Quaternary in the Yunam basin, Baralacha Passy International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.023

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there is no other stream that contributes sediment to the lake. Onlylocal/regional climate is recorded by its sediments. The palaeo-lacustrine section lies ~25 m above the present level of theYunam River bed. Based on the sediment texture, the successioncan be divided into three broad zones: a lowermost 0.4 m thickglacial outwash with highly angular to sub-rounded litho-clasts,(not shown in Fig. 4A), followed by parallel laminated lacustrinesequence from 0.4 m to 7.5 m, and terminating with deposition ofwell-sorted, rounded to sub-rounded river gravel from 7.5 to 8.0 m(Fig. 4A and B). The laminated sequence begins with the depositionof dark brown carbonaceous clay, followed by medium to fine sandand is invariably capped by fine grained sand. The laminated de-posits are mm scale thick (Fig. 4C).

The presence of lowermost angular to sub-rounded outwashgravel indicates deposition during flash-flood conditions. Consid-ering that the terrain had undergone significant glacial activityduring the Late Quaternary (Pant et al., 2005), we suggest thatoutwash material was deposited when debris-laden water trans-ported the moraine sediments from the upper reaches. The lami-nated sediments show fining upward sediment texture indicatingepisodic flooding inwhich the coarse fractionwas deposited duringthe flood peak, whereas the overlying fine sediments represent thewinnowing phase of the flood (e.g., Campbell and Evan, 1990). Theuppermost rounded to sub-rounded river gravel may indicateabrupt increase in the discharge causing the breaching of the lake.

5.3. Variation in carbon isotopes, TOC, mineral magnetism, clayminerals and major elements

On the basis of major changes in d13C values, TOC content,mineral magnetic parameters (Fig. 5), clay minerals (Fig. 6) andmajor elements and oxides (Fig. 7), the laminated part of thesequence can be divided into 8 units.

5.3.1. Unit 1 (0.4e0.9 m)The zone is represented by d13C values as �22.7 to�22.2‰, TOC

content (<0.11%), cfd (1.52e2.1%), c (1.02e1.05%), Illite (3.37e6.4%),Chlorite (2.05e5.13%), Muscovite (1.05e40.76%), C/I (0.56e1.17%)and Na (0.29e0.4% (Figs. 5e7). The values of CIA and CIW are ~69.3and ~91.0 respectively (Fig. 7).

Fig. 5. Proxy data from the sequence

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5.3.2. Unit 2 (0.9e2.2 m)The period is characterized by slightly more negative d13C

values, higher values of cfd (up to 2.79%), c (0.94e1.12%), CIA(~69.88), CIW (~92.5) and relatively higher values of Illite (upto10.49%), and low values of C/I (0.48e1.46%), Fe (3.73e4.47%) andNa (0.28e0.37%) (Figs. 5e7).

5.3.3. Unit 3 (2.2e2.8 m)As compared to the Unit 2, this unit contains comparatively low

values of TOC (0.08e0.13%), S- ratio (0.77e0.80%), cfd (around1.21%) and c (0.9e1.01%) (Fig. 5). The values of CIA and CIW are~69.92 and 92.51 respectively (see Fig. 7).

5.3.4. Unit 4 (2.8e3.2 m)The values of d13C are depleted (~�23.67‰) with the values of S-

ratio as 0.80e0.83, cfd as 0.47e1.12%, Si between 26.98 and 32.92and Ca as 0.76e1.38%. The Chlorite (3.96e6.41%), C/I (0.32e0.82%),Fe (3.18e4.21%), Al (5.94e9.78%), K (2.92e4.75%), Na (0.29e0.33%),Al2O3/SiO2 (0.16e0.33), CIA (~67.47) and CIW (~88.24) are alsopresent in this Unit (Figs. 5e7).

5.3.5. Unit 5 (3.2e4.3 m)The proxy data show slight enrichment in d13C (~�23.9%o), S

ratio (0.79e0.83%), c (0.96e1.06%), Chlorite (1e1.7%), Muscovite(16.21e37.65%), Fe (2.96e4.31%), Al (3.83e9.93%) and Na(0.29e0.33%), The Unit has lower values of Al2O3/SiO2 (0.10e0.32)and CaCO3 (6.91e11.13%).

5.3.6. Unit 6 (4.3e6.5 m)This Unit is characterized by d13C (�23.1 to �25.5), TOC

(0.07e0.12), S-ratio (0.79e0.84%), c (0.96e1), Illite (5.5e14.97%),Chlorite (1.72e6.53%), C/I Index (0.18e0.65), Muscovite(16.83e35.65%), Fe (2.85e4.3%) and Al (4.15e10.36%) with mostprominent peaks are observed at 10 ka and 5 ka (Figs. 5e8). Thisunit also has CIA (~68.68), CIW (~92.29) and CaCO3 (6.77e10.05%).

5.3.7. Unit 7 (6.5e7.2 m)The values of TOC (0.07e0.8%) cfd (1.31e2.35%) and S-ratio

(0.82e0.83%) show slightly decreasing trend. The lower values of Si(28.56e33.93%) and almost similar values of Fe (2.73e3.59%) and

against the extrapolated dates.

ignatures during Late Quaternary in the Yunam basin, Baralacha Passy International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.023

Fig. 6. Concentration of various clay minerals and their ratios plotted against lithology.

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Na (0.26e0.35%) (Fig. 7) are also observed. The CIA (~67.03), CIW(~87.64) and CaCO3 (9.69e11.8%) also show relatively low values ascompared to Unit 6 (see Fig. 7).

5.3.8. Unit 8 (7.2e7.5 m)The data show increasing trend in c, S-ratio, Illite, K, CaCO3, CIA

and decreasing values of Chlorite and C/I index.

6. Discussion

During the time span of 25 ka, the study area experiencedfluctuations of warming and cooling phases. It is interesting thatthe area has also preserved geomorphological features, such as,river terraces, deep gorge, fault facets, and river sinuosity, which

Fig. 7. Concentration of various elements, Ca

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generally occur in substantially humid climates. The precipitationrecords are in good agreement with other regions from Ladakh,Lahaul and Trans Himalayan region and present day arid Tibet (Fortet al., 1989; Bagati and Thakur, 1993; Gasse and Van Campo, 1994;Phartiyal et al., 2005, 2009b; Wünnemann et al., 2010; Leipe et al.,2014b). The increase in precipitation can be associated with rise intemperature in the study region. The general history of the climaticphases can be summarized as below.

6.1. ca. 25e23 ka BP

During this time span, the low values of c and cfd indicate lessrainfall with low concentration of magnetic grains. The low TOCcontent (see Fig. 5) may indicate less input of organic matter under

CO3, CIA and CIW, plotted against dates.

ignatures during Late Quaternary in the Yunam basin, Baralacha Passy International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.023

Fig. 8. Compilation of multi-proxy analyses against age in the Kilang Sarai profile.

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the comparatively low productivity in a cold and dry environment(e.g., Gasse and Van Campo, 1994). The high values of chlorite andmuscovite are suggestive of physical weathering. We presume thatthe high C/I Index (see Fig. 6) is due to low sedimentation occurredunder a harsh environment with seasonal water discharge facili-tating deposition of organic-poor varve sedimentation. The valuesof CIA and CIW reflect the moderate chemical weathering condi-tions. Therefore, this period is suggestive of poor development ofvegetation under reduced precipitation, oligotrophic condition ofthe lake, and deposition of organic poor laminated sediments.

6.2. ca. 23e19 ka BP

Subsequently, a warm phase is reflected by negative isotopicvalues, high values of cfd, c, and illite, and low values of muscovite,Na, K, Fe, Al and K. The rising trends in c and cfd (e.g., Williamsonet al., 1998) show warming, although with a lesser amplitude. Thelow amplitude high frequency fluctuations in c, S-ratio, CIA andCIW Index, altogether suggest enhanced precipitation. The in-ferences point towards higher productivity in the lake and C3vegetation, signifying the strengthening of precipitation. Our re-sults are synchronous with the warming event at 22 ka BP in theIndus valley (Sharma et al., 1998) and presence of grasslandmeadows and marshy land in northeastern Tibetan Plateau (Yanet al., 1999). The occurrence of a short humid at ca. 21.5 ka BP isalso marked by development of organic debris in the Mediterra-nean and Atlantic (Bonnefille and Riollet, 1988). In KumaunHimalaya, a short humid event has been recorded between 21.7 and20 ka BP (Kotlia et al., 2008).

6.3. ca. 19e17 ka BP

This period is characterized by comparatively low values of TOC,S-ratio, c and high values of C/I, muscovite and Na (Figs. 5 and 6)and perhaps represents a part of the LGM. The results indicatephysical weathering, reduced chemical alteration, and less sedi-ment supply, presumably due to a weakening precipitation. Thelow CIA and CIW suggest weaker chemical weathering and thispossibly may have decreased organic content. Deterioration inclimate is also reported around 18.3 ka in pollen record from theTsokar Lake in Ladakh (Bhattacharyya, 1989). The LGM has been

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evident from Central Himalaya between ca. 20�18 (Kotlia et al.,1997a; Owen et al., 2002; Basavaiah et al., 2004) and from theNepal Himalaya during ca. 25�18 ka (Richards et al., 2001). TheLGM or its part in the present study is significantly synchronouswith the results from Ladakh (Sant et al., 2011) but is younger thanin the Northern Hemisphere as described by Heyman et al. (2009).

6.4. ca. 17e16 ka BP

This part seems to belong to the post LGM warming, due todepleted d13C, relatively high cfd, S-ratio, Si, Ca and low C/I Index,Fe, Al, K, Na, Al2O3/SiO2 and CIA (Figs. 5e8). The depleted d13Cvalues with enhanced TOCmay indicate the increased precipitationduring a warm pulse. Higher S-ratio suggests an increase in mag-netic mineral input due to enhanced sediment supply (see Waldenet al., 1999) and high cfd therefore, can be suggested to documentstrong chemical weathering and strong hydrodynamic enrichmentin the lake. Around post LGM warming, a favourable climate hasalso been recognized around 15.8 ka BP in eastern Ladakh(Bhattacharyya, 1989). Similar evidence is reported from Kashmirvalley with deglaciation at ca. 15 ka BP (Singh and Agrawal, 1976). Aclimatic amelioration has also been reported at ca. 18�15 ka BPfrom northwestern China (Feng et al., 2007).

6.5. ca. 16�12 ka BP

This part shows a drier phase, inferred by relative enrichment ind13C, low values of S-ratio, c, Illite, Si, Al2O3/SiO2 CIA, CIW andCaCO3 and high values of chlorite, muscovite, Fe, Al and Na. Such asituation can be expected during the periods of drier conditions/low precipitation with poor development of vegetation. This dry/cold event can perhaps be regarded as Younger Dryas at16�12 ka BP. The region was fed by snowfall by perhaps westerlyinfluence which brought dry currents from Mediterranean region(Ono et al., 2004; Robinson et al., 2006). Our results also correspondwith the observations made by pollen records at Tsokar Lake,Ladakh at ca. 15.13 ka BP (Demske et al., 2009). Similar results havebeen obtained from Tsomorari lake in Ladakh (Leipe et al., 2014a,b)as well as from the Sumxi Co (Van Campo and Gasse, 1993; VanCampo et al., 1996) and Bangong Co (Van Campo et al., 1996) inthe south western Tibet. Our results are also synchronous with a

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glacial advance at 15.1�12 ka BP in Lahaul (Owen et al., 1997) and at16�12 ka BP in the Zanskar (Taylor and Mitchell, 2000).

6.6. ca. 12�4.5 ka BP

This longer phase shows an increase in precipitation as depictedby depleted d13C, higher TOC, S-ratio, cfd, Si, Illite and relatively lowvalues of chlorite, C/I Index, muscovite, Fe, Al and K. The prominentpeaks can bewell visible at ca.10 and 5 ka BP (see Figs. 6 and 8). Thedata indicate a gradual increase inweathering with more alterationof primary minerals and strong hydrodynamics due to enhancedprecipitation, possibly representing intensification in precipitation.The results are in agreement with a warm and humid phase fromwestern Tibet and Karakoram around ca. 11.5 ka BP (Brown et al.,2003). Our results are also in agreement with those obtainedfrom Tsokar and Tsomorari Lakes in Ladakh (Demske et al., 2009;Wünnemann et al., 2010; Leipe et al., 2014a,b) as well as fromSumxi Co, Bangong Co and Qaidam Basin in Tibet (Van Campo andGasse, 1993; Van Campo et al., 1996; Zhao et al., 2007).

6.7. ca. 4.5�2 ka BP

During this time, our data indicate reduced melt waterdischarge under cold and arid conditions, as is also evidenced bycomparatively lower values of TOC, S-ratio, cfd, Si, CIA and CIW. Thevalues of Fe, Al and Na further support our results. The dry condi-tions due to weakened precipitation at Kilang Sarai correspondswith records from Tsokar (Kramer et al., 2014), Tso Moriri (Leipeet al., 2014a) and Pangong Tso in Ladakh (Gasse et al., 1996). Theintensification of an arid phase at 4.0e3.5 ka BP is also recordedfrom the Indian Himalaya (Chauhan and Sharma, 1996; Kotlia et al.,1997a; Phadtare, 2000). Similar results have also been reportedfrom the Kinnaur Himalaya (Himachal Pradesh) where reducedmonsoonal precipitation prevailed around 2 ka BP (Chakrabortyet al., 2006).

6.8. ca. 2 ka BP onwards

This sector represents frequent oscillations of autochthonouslacustrine organic matter within the lake, somewhat oligotrophicconditions and suggestive of wet climate as reflected by relativelyincreasing trends of CIA, CIWand CaCO3. Around 1.6 ka BP, presenceof river gravel at Kilang Sarai indicates breaching of the Kilang Sarailake.

7. Conclusions

A 8 m thick palaeolake sequence from Kilang Sarai (LahaulHimalaya), has been studied for multi-proxy analyses, viz., d13C,TOC, LOI, mineral magnetism, clay minerals and major elements.Based on the lithological texture and a number of analyses, weconclude:

1. The ancient lake was tectonically formed around 25 ka BP byactivity along the fault that dammed the Yunam River. Thegeomorphologic characters such as tilted terraces, fluvio-lacustrine sediments, fault facets, deep gorge and abruptchanges in the course of Yunam River indicate that the region isinfluenced by tectonic activity. The uninterrupted sedimentswere deposited in a closed lake which was breached about1.6 ka BP due to revival of tectonic upheaval.

2. According to our results using multi-proxy investigations, it isinferred that the study area experienced eight climatic episodesas a cold/dry period from ca. 25�23 ka BP, a warm-humid phasefrom ca. 23e19 ka BP, an arid phase of the LGM at ca.

Please cite this article in press as: Bohra, A., Kotlia, B.S., Tectono-climatic s(upper Lahaul valley, India), derived from multi-proxy records, Quaternar

19e17 ka BP, a warm humid pulse of post glacial warmingaround ca. 17�16 ka BP, a cooling phase of the Younger Dryasfrom ca. 16�12 ka BP, a warmest phase at ca. 12�4.5 ka BP, fol-lowed by an arid phase between ca. 4.5�2 ka BP and a warmhumid phase from 2 ka BP onwards.

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Director, Wadia Institute of Hi-malayan Geology, Dehradun and Dr. N.K. Saini for the supportduring clay mineralogy and geochemical analysis and to Dr N.Basaviah, Institute of Geomagnetism, Mumbai for providing facilityfor measuring magnetic susceptibility. Drs. Sushma Prasad andBrigit Pleesen, from GFZ, Potsdam, Germany are acknowledged forcarbon isotopic data. AB is grateful to Drs. D.P. Dobhal, R. Islam, P.Srivastava, R. Bhambri, M. Mehta, N.K. Meena from WIHG and K.Selvaraj from Xiamen University, China for discussion and valuablesuggestions. BSK is thankful to the University Grants Commission,New Delhi (F.8-10/SA/90/SA-II) for financial assistance.

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