Pollen-Based Quaternary Palaeoclimatic Studies in India: An Overview of Recent Advances

Quaternary palaeoclimatic studies in India, with reference to palynology, commenced in the early part of the twentieth century. Sporadic studies continued until the 1940s. A watershed in palynological research in the country occurred in the late 1940s, primarily with the inception of the Birbal Sahn...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPalynology Vol. 43; no. 1; pp. 76 - 93
Main Authors Kar, Ratan, Quamar, M. Firoze
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists 02.01.2019
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Educational institutions
Glaciation
Holocene
Ice ages
India
Palynology
Pollen
Pollen analysis
Quaternary
Quaternary palaeoclimate
review
Territory
Watersheds
Workers
India
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Quaternary palaeoclimatic studies in India, with reference to palynology, commenced in the early part of the twentieth century. Sporadic studies continued until the 1940s. A watershed in palynological research in the country occurred in the late 1940s, primarily with the inception of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany (recently renamed the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences). Since then, other academic centres and universities have also steadily contributed in augmenting palynological research in India. Preliminary studies, though seemingly rudimentary, nonetheless helped in the expansion of the palynological database for the country. The pioneering workers, in spite of limited resources, did a creditable job in undertaking palynological studies across a vast territory. Earlier, studies were limited to local data generation; recent research has featured stronger global contextualisation. This includes the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), Younger Dryas (YD), Holocene Climatic Optimum (HCO), Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and Little Ice Age (LIA). The recent progress of palynology in India, with reference to Quaternary palaeoclimatic studies, is discussed and reviewed in this article.
ISSN:0191-6122
1558-9188
DOI:10.1080/01916122.2017.1410502