Short communication: Massive erosion in monsoonal central India linked to late Holocene land cover degradation
Soil erosion plays a crucial role in transferring sediment and carbon from land to sea, yet little is known about the rhythm and rates of soil erosion prior to the most recent few centuries. Here we reconstruct a Holocene erosional history from central India, as integrated by the Godavari River i...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2017-12-01
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| Series: | Earth Surface Dynamics |
| Online Access: | https://www.earth-surf-dynam.net/5/781/2017/esurf-5-781-2017.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818529326105100288 |
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| author | L. Giosan C. Ponton C. Ponton C. Ponton M. Usman J. Blusztajn D. Q. Fuller V. Galy N. Haghipour J. E. Johnson C. McIntyre C. McIntyre C. McIntyre L. Wacker T. I. Eglinton T. I. Eglinton |
| author_facet | L. Giosan C. Ponton C. Ponton C. Ponton M. Usman J. Blusztajn D. Q. Fuller V. Galy N. Haghipour J. E. Johnson C. McIntyre C. McIntyre C. McIntyre L. Wacker T. I. Eglinton T. I. Eglinton |
| author_sort | L. Giosan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil erosion plays a crucial role in transferring sediment and carbon from
land to sea, yet little is known about the rhythm and rates of soil erosion
prior to the most recent few centuries. Here we reconstruct a Holocene
erosional history from central India, as integrated by the Godavari River in
a sediment core from the Bay of Bengal. We quantify terrigenous fluxes,
fingerprint sources for the lithogenic fraction and assess the age of the
exported terrigenous carbon. Taken together, our data show that the monsoon
decline in the late Holocene significantly increased soil erosion and the age
of exported organic carbon. This acceleration of natural erosion was later
exacerbated by the Neolithic adoption and Iron Age extensification of
agriculture on the Deccan Plateau. Despite a constantly elevated sea level
since the middle Holocene, this erosion acceleration led to a rapid growth of
the continental margin. We conclude that in monsoon conditions aridity boosts
rather than suppresses sediment and carbon export, acting as a monsoon
erosional pump modulated by land cover conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T17:05:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ecd066e5cc64bfca2f9d7710d5c4b81 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2196-6311 2196-632X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T17:05:27Z |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth Surface Dynamics |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ecd066e5cc64bfca2f9d7710d5c4b812022-12-22T00:57:41ZengCopernicus PublicationsEarth Surface Dynamics2196-63112196-632X2017-12-01578178910.5194/esurf-5-781-2017Short communication: Massive erosion in monsoonal central India linked to late Holocene land cover degradationL. Giosan0C. Ponton1C. Ponton2C. Ponton3M. Usman4J. Blusztajn5D. Q. Fuller6V. Galy7N. Haghipour8J. E. Johnson9C. McIntyre10C. McIntyre11C. McIntyre12L. Wacker13T. I. Eglinton14T. I. Eglinton15Geology & Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USAGeology & Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USAMIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, Cambridge, MA, USAnow at: Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USAGeological Institute, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandGeology & Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USAInstitute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UKMarine Chemistry & Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USAGeological Institute, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandEarth Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USAGeological Institute, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandLaboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerlandnow at: Scottish Universities Environmental Research Center, E. Kilbride, G75 0QF, UKLaboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, SwitzerlandGeological Institute, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandMarine Chemistry & Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USASoil erosion plays a crucial role in transferring sediment and carbon from land to sea, yet little is known about the rhythm and rates of soil erosion prior to the most recent few centuries. Here we reconstruct a Holocene erosional history from central India, as integrated by the Godavari River in a sediment core from the Bay of Bengal. We quantify terrigenous fluxes, fingerprint sources for the lithogenic fraction and assess the age of the exported terrigenous carbon. Taken together, our data show that the monsoon decline in the late Holocene significantly increased soil erosion and the age of exported organic carbon. This acceleration of natural erosion was later exacerbated by the Neolithic adoption and Iron Age extensification of agriculture on the Deccan Plateau. Despite a constantly elevated sea level since the middle Holocene, this erosion acceleration led to a rapid growth of the continental margin. We conclude that in monsoon conditions aridity boosts rather than suppresses sediment and carbon export, acting as a monsoon erosional pump modulated by land cover conditions.https://www.earth-surf-dynam.net/5/781/2017/esurf-5-781-2017.pdf |
| spellingShingle | L. Giosan C. Ponton C. Ponton C. Ponton M. Usman J. Blusztajn D. Q. Fuller V. Galy N. Haghipour J. E. Johnson C. McIntyre C. McIntyre C. McIntyre L. Wacker T. I. Eglinton T. I. Eglinton Short communication: Massive erosion in monsoonal central India linked to late Holocene land cover degradation Earth Surface Dynamics |
| title | Short communication: Massive erosion in monsoonal central India linked to late Holocene land cover degradation |
| title_full | Short communication: Massive erosion in monsoonal central India linked to late Holocene land cover degradation |
| title_fullStr | Short communication: Massive erosion in monsoonal central India linked to late Holocene land cover degradation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Short communication: Massive erosion in monsoonal central India linked to late Holocene land cover degradation |
| title_short | Short communication: Massive erosion in monsoonal central India linked to late Holocene land cover degradation |
| title_sort | short communication massive erosion in monsoonal central india linked to late holocene land cover degradation |
| url | https://www.earth-surf-dynam.net/5/781/2017/esurf-5-781-2017.pdf |
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