Project in charge: Dr Anish Kumar Warrier

Thematic Area: Earth Sciences, Paleoclimate

Principal Investigator(s): Dr Anish Kumar Warrier / Dr K. Balakrishna

Research Fellow (s): Mr. Joju George Sebastian

National partners: (If any): Dr Rahul Mohan / Dr Mahesh B.S. (NCPOR, Goa)

MAHE Partner: Manipal Institute of Technology

Village/City: Manipal

Project Duration: July 2019 to Present

Aim: Using lake sediment deposits, to get high-resolution information on how the environment in Schirmacher Oasis and Larsemann Hills has changed in the past.

The study/ Innovation:

Very little is known about the previous behaviour of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), and the lake-bed sediments of Schirmacher Oasis (SO), East Antarctica, rarely represent glacial-interglacial climatic and environmental fluctuations. Our work presents the mineral magnetic characteristics of a radiocarbon-dated sediment core from a landlocked lake in SO (L-49) that spans the last 43,000 years. Statistical analysis of the multi-proxy data indicates that ferrimagnetic input, biogenic processes, and aeolian input are the three processes influencing the magnetic characteristics of the lake sediments. Relatively warm conditions in the Schirmacher Oasis began at around 18.6 cal ka BP. Sharp cooling event at 12.77 cal ka B.P. suggests the influence of the Antarctic Cold Reversal. The climate during the Holocene (~11,800 years before present) fluctuated between cold and warm, which resulted in the varying thickness of the EAIS. 

Weblink: (If any)

Link to Research Publication (if any with DOI) –

1. Warrier, A.K., Mahesh, B.S., Joju, G.S. and Mohan, R. (2021). How strong was pedogenesis in Schirmacher Oasis during the Late Quaternary? Polar Science, v. 30, 100636 (Impact factor: 2.355; Q2) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polar.2021.100636

2. Warrier, A.K., Mahesh, B.S., Mohan, R. and Shankar, R. (2021). A 43-ka mineral magnetic record of environmental variations from lacustrine sediments of Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica. Catena, v. 202, 105300 (Impact factor: 6.367; Q1) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105300

3. Mahesh, B.S., Warrier, A.K., Nair, A., Fernandes, R. and Mohan, R. (2021). Evolutionary inferences from the sedimentary deposits of Lake LH73, Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica. Catena, v. 203, 105341 (Impact factor: 6.367; Q1) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105341

4. Cheryl A. Noronha-D Mello, Nair, A., Mahesh, B.S., Warrier, A.K., Mohan, R. and Kurian, S. (2021). Glacial-Holocene climate-driven shifts in lacustrine and terrestrial environments: Rock magnetic and geochemical evidence from an East Antarctic Mochou Lake. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, (Impact factor: 3.565; Q1) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110505

5. Mahesh, B.S., Nair, A., Ghadi, P., Warrier, A.K. and Mohan, R. (2021). Holocene sedimentology in an isolation basin in the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica. Polar Science, v. 30, 100729 (Impact factor: 1.927; Q2), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polar.2021.100729

6. Warrier, A.K., Joju, G.S., Amrutha, K., Yamuna Sali, A.S., Mahesh, B.S. and Mohan, R. (2021). Magnetic properties of surface sediments in Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica: Spatial distribution and controlling factors. Journal of Soils and Sediments, v. 21, pp. 1206-1221 (Impact factor: 3.308; Q1) DOI: 10.1007/s11368-020-02824-8