Tag : ISMR

New Delhi (The Hawk): Regions surrounding northern Bay of Bengal (BoB) received higher precipitation than the other parts of India for the last 10200 years, says a new study that traced the dynamics of Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall (ISMR) over the 10000 years – a period which witnessed the development and fall of numerous ancient civilizations around the world, many of which were associated with climate instability. The study can help understand long-term trends of climate change impacts on the ecosystems and may help mitigate future climate extremities. Agriculture in India is heavily dependent on the Indian Summer Monsoon rains (ISMR). The Bengal Basin or the ‘Bengal region’ being located at the trajectory of the Bay of Bengal (BoB) branch of the ISM is very sensitive to changes in the ISM strength. Even a minor change in ISM strength may have adverse effects on the agrarian-based socioeconomic conditions of the region. However, no systematic long-term record (beyond the range of instrumental period) for the past ISM variability in the region was available. BSIP, an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology (DST), for the first time, reconstructed the history of the ISM variability from this region by using both biotic and abiotic proxies that predates instrumental records (records taken before 19th Century). In the hydro-climatic history of the last 10.2 ka (10,200 years) of the Bengal region published in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, a team of scientists show that a heavy ISMR was witnessed during 10.2 – 5.6 ka by this region and the ISMR decreased since 4.3 ka. The ISM again got strengthened between 3.7 and 2.1 ka following which it switched to a drier mode for some time. The ...