Luminescence Chronology of Core Sediments from Cauvery Delta, Tamil Nadu

Soren, Sunita (2019) Luminescence Chronology of Core Sediments from Cauvery Delta, Tamil Nadu. Masters thesis, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata.

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Abstract

The study helps us in understanding the alluvial system developed in the deltaic region of the river Cauvery to the past climatic events. The Cauvery Many flood units were observed during the study carried out in the lower Cauvery river and its tributaries. The Cauvery is a monsoon fed river and the major contributor of precipitation in this region is the Indian Winter Monsoon . The study of the paleoflood deposits helps us in reconstructing the past climatic conditions and variability and relate it to the recent conditions. Luminescence dating is a very widely used technique for dating quaternary deposits. This method was applied to obtain the chronological information of the paleoflood records. This sediments from the alluvial system have a very less chance of being partially bleached as they are old sediments taken from a depth of 25m. Few research findings suggest that a major shift in the global climatic events has left behind a remarkable signature on the alluvial deposits on the deltaic core and this can be seen by the abundance of different kinds of foraminifera which act as our index fossils. And also the discharge of the river Cauvery is mainly dependent on the amount of precipitation for a particular period of time. Studies suggest that the flood frequency was higher during the 100 to 200 years, 600 to 800 years and 2000 to 3000 years before present suggesting an increased frequency of flood during the transition from Medieval Warm Period (MWP) to Little Ice Age (LIA) and retreating of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) southward of the Equator.

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