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Srivastava, Pradeep

Earliest Dates and Implications of Microlithic Industries of Late Pleistocene from Mahadebbera and Kana, Purulia District, West Bengal

Abstract Views :180 | PDF Views:84

Authors

Bishnupriya Basak ¹, Pradeep Srivastava ², Sujit Dasgupta ³, Anil Kumar ², S. N. Rajaguru ⁴

Affiliations
1 Department of Archaeology, Calcutta University, Kolkata 700 073, IN
2 Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun 248 001, IN
3 Formerly at Geological Survey of India, Kolkata 700 016, IN
4 Formerly at Deccan College, Yerwada, Pune 411 006, IN

Source

Current Science, Vol 107, No 7 (2014), Pagination: 1167-1171

Abstract

Microlithic industries, a technology associated with modern humans, as defined by the production of microblades have been found in different parts of the Indian subcontinent with the earliest date being 48 ka. The present communication reports on recent archaeological excavations of these industries from a colluvial context located in the pediment surface of Precambrian hills in Purulia, West Bengal. These are dated to 34-25 ka by optically stimulated luminescence dating and are the earliest dates for microlithic industries in eastern India. To our knowledge such dating does not exist for any prehistoric site in Bengal. The context of the sites - hill-slope colluvium - is also unique and a rarity in the subcontinent. These findings add additional inputs to the knowledge of these industries, providing supporting evidence to their antiquity.

Keywords

Colluvium, Excavation, Microlihic Industries, Modern Humans.

Full Text

Rapid Lake Level Fall in Pangong Tso (lake) in Ladakh, NW Himalaya: A Response of Late Holocene Aridity

Abstract Views :247 | PDF Views:85

Authors

Pradeep Srivastava ¹, Anil Kumar ¹, Randheer Singh ², Oshin Deepak ³, Arjit M. Kumar ³, Yogesh Ray ⁴, R. Jayangondaperumal ¹, Binita Phartiyal ², Poonam Chahal ¹, Pankaj Sharma ¹, Rupa Ghosh ¹, Naresh Kumar ⁵, Rajesh Agnihotri ²

Affiliations
1 Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun 248 001, IN
2 Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow 226 007, IN
3 Department of Geology, Lucknow University, Lucknow 226 007, IN
4 National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Goa 403 802, IN
5 Department of Geology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar 249 161, IN

Source

Current Science, Vol 119, No 2 (2020), Pagination: 219-231

Abstract

Pangong Tso is a brackish water lake that lies along Pangong strand of the Karakoram strike–slip fault in arid Trans Himalayan region. The geomorphic mapping along the periphery of the lake suggested the presence of four palaeolake level strands located at 6, 4.8, 3.8 and 1.25 m above the present lake level. The gullied periphery expose relict deltaic sediments where sedimentological study enabled us to identify four deltaic lobes that make a classic Gilbert-type delta with well-developed top-set, fore-set and bottom-set. The top-set of the stratigraphically oldest delta lobe that corresponds to the highest lake level shows the presence of freshwater molluscs identified as Radix and a burnt sediment layer (hearth). The charcoal derived from this layer yielded 14C date as 1.7 ka BP and six luminescence ages from different delta lobes suggested that delta evolution and lake level fall of ~6 m took place between ~2–1 ka. Review of palaeoclimate record available from NW Himalaya and Pangong Tso suggests that late Holocene aridity might be responsible for this rapid lake level fall. Sclerochronological analysis carried out on 54 subsamples from three Radix specimens suggested that the modern type of seasonal conditions may have prevailed at ~1.7 ka BP.

Keywords

Ladakh Himalaya, Lake-Delta, Late Holocene Aridity, Pangong Tso, Sclerochronological Analysis.

Full Text

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Why are the Builders and Operators of Dams and Hydels in The Hindu Kush–Karakoram–Himalaya so Poorly Prepared for Hydroclimatic Hazards?

Abstract Views :190 | PDF Views:88

Authors

Pradeep Srivastava ¹, Han She Lim ², Robert Wasson ³

Affiliations
1 Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee 247 667, IN
2 College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD 4870, AU
3 Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, AU

Source

Current Science, Vol 121, No 12 (2021), Pagination: 1549-1552

Abstract

The large and apparently increasing magnitude of losses of lives and property due to hydroclimatic hazards in the Hindu Kush–Karakoram–Himalaya (HKH), exemplified by the recent February, 2021 Rishiganga and 2013 Kedarnath floods, shows that risk assessment and planning are inadequate. In the Anthropocene, where climate change is a real and present danger, the frequency of such events is likely to increase along with the damage. Based on our present understanding of the hydroclimatic risks in the HKH, we appeal for a more comprehensive plan for improving our understanding and monitoring. The scheme suggests expansion of mapping and assessment of the factors that contribute to risk. Further development of the archives of extreme events as one of the basis for risk assessment, developing real time monitoring of hazard elements such as the potential for lake outbursts and landslides is essential. Artificial intelligence (AI) should be employed to provide early warning. In India a taskforce of the earth scientists, hydrologists, historians and engineers (civil and AI) should be established to chart a course for the creation of this understanding and monitoring. Similar action may be taken up in other HKH countries.

Keywords

Hindu Kush–Karakoram–Himalaya, Hydroclimatic Hazards, Risk Assessment, Monitoring.

Full Text

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A need to integrate metagenomics and metabolomics in geosciences and develop the deep-time digital earth-biome database of India

Abstract Views :125 | PDF Views:69

Authors

Pradeep Srivastava ¹, Prasanta Sanyal ², Sharmila Bhattacharya ³, Praveen K. Mishra ⁴, Suryendu Dutta ⁵, Rajarshi Chakravarti ¹, Niraj Rai ⁶, Naveen Navani ⁷, Anoop Ambili ³, K. P. Karanth ⁸, Jahanavi Joshi ⁹, Sushmita Singh ¹, Senthil Kumar Sadasivam ¹⁰

Affiliations
1 Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee 247 667, India, IN
2 Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata 741 246, India, IN
3 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali 140 306, India, IN
4 Department of Geology, School of Sciences, Cluster University of Jammu, Jammu 180 001, India, IN
5 Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, India, IN
6 Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow 226 007, India, IN
7 Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee 247 667, India, IN
8 Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Sciences, Bengaluru 560 012, India, IN
9 CSIR Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad 500 007, India, IN
10 Geobiotechnology Laboratory/PG and Research Department of Botany, National College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli 620 001, India, IN

Source

Current Science, Vol 124, No 1 (2023), Pagination: 26-37

Abstract

This article presents applications of metagenomics and metabolomics in geosciences. It emphasizes the significance of biomolecular proxies in palaeoclimatology, the evolution of life, the genesis of hydrocarbons and the role of biological processes in metallogeny. Several examples of breakthroughs with respect using these methods in earth sciences exist, such as the estimating resilience time of landscapes against invasive species. It is unfortunate that scientific programmes using bioproxies have not yet taken root in Indian institutions. Now is the appropriate time to delineate the critical role of biology in geology and establish it as a thrust area of research in India. A molecular geobiology programme would deal with the understanding of varied issues such as microbial heat production and its role in soil processes, the role of biology in mineralization, the use of biomarkers (metabolites) and ancient DNA studies in understanding feedbacks in climate change, evolution of life, etc. This article focuses on the use of metagenomics and metabolomics in palaeo-sciences and the potential intellectual dividends they could provide

Full Text

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