Research Projects

The style and timing of past glacier fluctuations in the Himalaya is widely contested. However, the Late Quaternary maximum glacier expansion in the Himalaya is known to have been asynchronous with the global Last Glacial Maximum. Likewise, it is now widely acknowledged that the timing and extent of Holocene climatic variability, and associated glacial fluctuations, in the Himalaya differs notably from more northerly latitudes. However, conditions during the Little Ice Age (LIA), reported from other parts of the world. In lack of the glacial chronology of the region the style and timing of glacier expansion of Europe were superimposed on the Himalayan glaciers (Mayewski and Jeschke, 1979). The relative size and extent of the Himalayan moraines were compared with that of the Little Ice Age glaciers in Europe. We ponder upon the research question that if the Himalayan glaciers behaved asynchronous during the Last Glacial Maximum as well as during the majority of the Holocene period then how come at a sudden the style and timing of glacier fluctuation became synchronous to Northern Latitudes? Recent attempts have been made to generate the glacial chronology of the period, but are mostly based on relative rather than absolute chronologies, wherever the numerical dating has been applied, there are typically a limited number of dates (≤ 2), lacking robust chronology. Areas which have been historically accessible, such as Khumbu, Garhwal, Milam, Gonga Shan have produced most dates. In brief, most of the glacial chronology of the region is based on the Central Himalaya (Khumbu and Garhwal Himalaya), and often dictated by the accessibility of particular well-dated or well-studied sites. Therefore, the present research is proposed to reconstruct the Little Ice Age glacier fluctuation history of the Western Himalaya which is dominated by mid-latitude westerlies as compared to monsoon dominated central and eastern Himalaya. The outcome of the study will contribute to the greater understanding of spatial character of the climatic variability and glacial fluctuations in the western Himalayas during the LIA. Research Questions: 1. What were the style and timing of glaciers expansion during the LIA in the western Himalaya? 2. What were the spatial patterns of glacier expansion during the LIA? 3. How has the climate varied in the North Western Himalaya over the last millennial? Objectives: 1. To reconstruct the style and timing of glacier expansion based on glacial landform interpretation and absolute chronology in the western Himalayas. 2. To understand the spatial character of the Little Ice Age glacier expansion in the western Himalayas. 3. To present a synthesis between the palaeoclimatic proxies of the region and the history of glacial fluctuation during the Little Ice Age in the Himalayas. The project will address to the gaps that exist on part of the glacial chronology of the last millennium in the Western Himalayas.