Description: Variations in sea surface temperature (SST), d18O of sea water (δ18Ow), and salinity were reconstructed for the past 68 ka using a sediment core (AAS9/21) from the eastern Arabian Sea (EAS) in order to understand the changes in evaporation and precipitation associated with the monsoon system. The Mg/Ca-derived SST record varies by ~4°C; it shows that marine isotope stage (MIS) 4 was warmer than MIS 3, that the Last Glacial Maximum was 4°C cooler than the present, and that there was a 2°C increase within the Holocene. MIS 4 records higher d18Ow and salinity values than MIS 2, suggesting variable flow of low-salinity Bay of Bengal flow into the EAS during glacial periods. The transition from MIS 4 to MIS 3 was marked with a conspicuous shift from higher to lower d18Ow values, which reflects a decrease in the evaporation-precipitation budget in the EAS, perhaps due to the strengthening of southwest monsoon. Monsoon reconstructions based on d18Ow reveal that monsoon-driven precipitation was higher during MIS 3 and MIS 1 and was lower during MIS 2 and MIS 4. This is consistent with earlier monsoon reconstructions based on upwelling indices from the western Arabian Sea. However, the amplitude of monsoon fluctuations derived through upwelling indices and d18Ow varies significantly, which may indicate spatial variability of monsoon rainfall.

Description: The CaCO3 content in Quaternary deep-sea sediments from Pacific and Atlantic oceans have been suggested to respond differently to glacial/interglacial cycles; CaCO3 contents are highest during glacials in the Pacific but highest during interglacials in the Atlantic Ocean. It is not yet clear as to whether a Pacific or an Atlantic pattern of CaCO3 fluctuations dominates the Indian Ocean. We have analyzed the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 709A from the western equatorial Indian Ocean for the last 1370 ka to determine the relationships between percentages and fluxes of CaCO3 and Quaternary paleoclimatic changes. We also analyzed the coarse (〉25 µm) and fine (〈25 µm) fractions of CaCO3 in an attempt at estimating the influence of differences in productivity of foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils in shaping the CaCO3 record. Carbon isotopes and Ba/Al ratios were used as indices of productivity. Percentages and fluxes of CaCO3 in the total sediment and 〈25 µm fraction do not show any clear relationships to glacial/interglacial cycles derived from d18O of the planktonic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber. This indicates that CaCO3 fluctuations at this site do not show either a Pacific or an Atlantic pattern of CaCO3 fluctuations. Fluxes of CaCO3 (0.38 to 2.46 g/cm**2/ ka) in total sediment and Ba/Al ratios (0.58 to 3.93 g/cm**2/ka) show six-fold variability through the last 1370 ka, which points out that productivity changes are significant at this site. Fluxes of the fine CaCO3 component demonstrate a 26-fold change (0.02 to 0.52 g/cm**2/ka), whereas the coarse CaCO3 component exhibit eight-fold change (0.13 to 1.07 g/cm**2/ka). This suggests that productivity variations of calcareous nannofossils are greater in comparison with the foraminifera. On the other hand, mean values of coarse CaCO3 fluxes are higher compared to those of fine CaCO3, which reveals that the foraminifera contribute more to the bulk CaCO3 flux than the calcareous nannofossils in the equatorial Indian Ocean.

Description: Oxygen and carbon isotopic analyses have been performed on the tests of Globigerina bulloides, Globigerinoides sacculifer, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei and Pulleniatina obliquiloculata to study the Delta delta18O and Delta delta13C of shallow and deeper depth living planktic foraminifera species. High and low Delta delta18Oobl-bul and Delta delta13Csac-dut coincides respectively with the low and high flux of G. bulloides (established monsoon upwelling index). The tangible relationships between the flux of G. bulloides and oxygen and carbon isotope differences between the shallow and deeper depth habitat planktic foraminiferal species appear to suggest that Delta delta18O and Delta delta13C of surface and subsurface living foraminifera can be used as isotope indices of upwelling in the Arabian Sea.

Description: In the western Arabian Sea (WAS), the highest seasonal sea surface temperature (SST) difference presently occurs between May and August. In order to gain an understanding on how monsoonal upwelling modulates the SST difference between these two months, we have computed SST for the months of May and August based on census counts of planktonic foraminifers by using the artificial neural network (ANN) technique. The SST difference between May and August exhibits three distinct phases: i) a moderate SST difference in the late Holocene (0-3.5 ka) is attributable to intense upwelling during August, ii) a minimum SST difference from 4 to 12 ka is due to weak upwelling during the month of August, and iii) the highest SST difference during the last glacial interval (19 to 22 ka) with high Globigerina bulloides % could have been caused by the occurrence of a prolonged upwelling season (from May through July) and maximum difference in the incoming solar radiation between May and August. Overall, variations in the SST difference between May and August show that the timing of intense upwelling in the Western Arabian Sea over the last 22 kyr has been variable over the months of June, July and August.

Description: Oxygen and carbon isotopic analyses have been performed on the tests of Globigerina bulloides and Pulleniatina obliquiloculata (planktonic foraminifera) and Uvigerina excellens (benthic foraminifer) to study the evolution of surface and bottom water hydrographic changes associated with summer monsoon upwelling process at the Oman Margin over the last 19 kyr. Globigerina bulloides, P. obliquiloculata and U. excellens show sharp depleted delta18O excursions around 9 ka, ascribed to the distribution of melt water flux of Termination IB in this region. A synchronous delta18O shift in surface, subsurface and bottom water-living foraminifera around 9 ka reveals a rapid transfer of the Termination IB signal through the vertical circulation of the Arabian Sea in response to peak monsoon intensity. A steep increase in delta13C values of U. excellens between 9 and 8 ka reveals advection of Red Sea intermediate water into the Arabian Sea during peak monsoon intensity. For the first time a drastic climatic shift at ~4 ka is noticed in the Arabian Sea as evidenced by the lowest delta18O values of both P. obliquiloculata (-1.10 ‰) and G. bulloides (-2.29 ‰). This points to reduced upwelling strength. Both planktonic foraminifer species delta18O records suggest the establishment of modern surface water conditions after 3 ka at the Oman Margin.

Description: Production of Globigerina bulloides generally increases during upwelling in the tropical ocean and, in particular, during southwest monsoon season in the Arabian Sea. We studied the d13C signatures of G. bulloides from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) site 723A located in the intense upwelling area along the Oman Margin, Arabian Sea. The delta13C signature of G. bulloides from the Oman Margin during the last 19 ka ranges from -2.65‰ to -1.13‰. Strikingly, the delta13C values of G. bulloides are about 1‰ lower than that of benthic foraminifera Uvigerina excellens at this site. Apparently, the vital effects induced carbon isotopic fractionation in G. bulloides results in abnormal delta13C values. During upwelling seasons, G. bulloides calcifies faster, perhaps because of high-nutrient availability. Faster calcification rates in this species require higher respiration, which involves more respired CO2 enriched with 12C accounting for nearly 10% of shell carbon. Therefore, the combination the foraminifera of faster calcification and involvement of respired CO2 would induce more negative delta13C in G. bulloides compared to other foraminifera. Apart from vital effects, the environmental changes caused by the variations of upwelling intensity during Holocene and last glacial maximum also affected the down-core delta13C record of G. bulloides in the Arabian Sea. Significant ontogenic differences in both delta18O and delta13C occurred between large and small size classes of G. bulloides.

Description: We have carried out a high-resolution study of fluctuations in upwelling intensity along the Oman Margin, western Arabian Sea, through the last 19,130 years based on several marine microfossil indices of upwelling. We document a periodicity of 2,200 years in the upwelling indices, which would be governed by the south-west (SW) monsoon with such a periodicity. Our data further demonstrate greater amplitude in the variability of the SW monsoon during the Holocene than during the last glacial period. Our reported 2,200 years periodicity has two implications (1) oceanic circulation changes partly influence monsoon strength at sub-Milankovitch cycles (2) previously documented 2,300 years periodicity in atmospheric 14C might be induced by oceanic circulation changes.

Description: Annual, summer, and winter sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the western Arabian Sea were reconstructed through the last 22 kyr using artificial neural networks (ANNs) based on quantitative analyses of planktic foraminifera. Down-core SST estimates reveal that annual, summer, and winter SSTs were 2, 1.2, and 2.6°C cooler, respectively, during the last glacial period than in the Holocene. A 2.5°C SST increase during Termination 1A (hereinafter referred as glacial to Holocene transition) in the western Arabian Sea. The study reveals a strong seasonal SST contrast between winter and summer from 18 to 14 calendar kyr owing to the combined effect of weak upwelling and strong cold northeasterly winds. Minor or no seasonal SST changes were noticed within the Holocene period, which is attributed to the intense upwelling during the summer monsoon. This causes a lowering of SST to values similar to those of the winter season in analogy with the present day. A 3°C rise in winter SSTs during the glacial to Holocene transition coincides with a strengthening of the monsoon, suggesting a link between winter SST and monsoon initiation from the beginning of the Holocene. Strikingly, annual, summer, and winter SSTs show a cooling trend from ~8 ka to the present day, implying tropical cooling in the late Holocene.