Meghalaya cave stalagmite reveals 6,000 years of monsoon history
An 11-cm rock from Mawsmai Cave shows how ancient rainfall was linked to solar activity and ocean currents.
An 11-cm-long stalagmite recovered from Mawsmai Cave in Meghalaya has provided a 6,000-year record of monsoon history in northeastern India, according to reports by Moneycontrol, ThePrint and The Tribune.
The study, titled ‘Deciphering Holocene monsoon dynamics in northeastern India’, examined the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) between approximately 11,807 and 5,622 years ago.
Researchers found the monsoon was particularly strong between 11,807 and 7,700 years ago, before weakening gradually between 7,700 and 5,622 years ago.
The stalagmite was collected from a chamber about 300 metres inside the cave, located roughly 60 km south of Shillong in the East Khasi Hills district.
The research, published in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, suggests rainfall was influenced by North Atlantic ocean currents and solar activity.
The study was led by Yachna Verma and Anil K Gupta of IIT Kharagpur, and Prasanta Sanyal of IISER Kolkata, alongside co-authors Priyantan Gupta, Som Dutt, Pankaj Kumar and Abhijit Mukherjee.