The Indian monsoon affects the lives of over a billion inhabitants living in southern Asia via the hydrological cycle. Agriculture on land and freshwater discharge into the ocean and nutrient cycling are tied with the monsoon cycles and directly impact society and the economy. Previous studies have demonstrated a strong connection between the strength of the Indian monsoon and cooling of the North Atlantic during climate extremes, such as during the last glacial period, 20,000 years ago.
In this study the student shall reconstruct the strength of the Indian Monsoon by measuring the oxygen isotopic composition preserved in corals, collected from Bangladesh. Changes in the isotopic composition of the coral will be dominated by changes in precipitation and riverine discharge during the summer monsoon. The student will generate and compare isotopic data collected from two corals that grew during different climate regimes: one representing the modern and one that dates to the Little Ice Age (~ 1700 AD). While the Little Ice Age is largely associated with colder climate in North America and Europe there is evidence for an extended period of cooling in Asia, as demonstrated by failure of warm weather crops in China and mass migrations from cold regions in Pakistan. The research assistant will test the hypothesis that the monsoon should have weakened during the Little Ice Age.
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