Himalayan glaciers experienced significant mass loss during later phases of little ice age

We express our gratitude to Prof. Sunil Bajpai, Director, BSIP for providing official permission to publish (vide BSIP/RDCC/89/2016–2017) and necessary facilities to carry out this work. We also thank the PCCFs Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, and DFO Uttarkashi and other forest office staffs of the Indian Himalayan states for their help and providing necessary facilities during tree-ring sampling. We thank Mrs. Meenakshi Joshi (IFS) Uttarakhand for her insights on the topic and constructive suggestions. We thank Prof. Hans W. Linderholm and Prof. Dan J. Smith for sharing the mass balance time-series for Storglaciären (Sweden) and Canadian glaciers, respectively. M.S. acknowledges the financial support by the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi vide SERB-DST Project No. SR/FTP/ES-127/2014 [Young Scientist Scheme]. P.S.R. extends his sincere acknowledgement to SERB–DST projects SR/DGH/44/2012 and SR/DGH/56/2013 for financial support to carry out this research work.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Reconstructing atmospheric CO2 during the Plio-Pleistocene transition by fossil Typha

The Earth has undergone a significant climate switch from greenhouse to icehouse during the Plio-Pleistocene transition (PPT) around 2.7-2.4 million years ago (Ma), marked by the intensification of the Northern Hemisphere glaciation (NHG) 2.7Ma. Evidence based on oceanic CO2 [(CO2)(aq)], supposed to be in close equilibrium with the atmospheric CO2 [(CO2)(atm)], suggests that the CO2 decline might drive such climate cooling. However, the rarity of direct evidence from [CO2](atm) during the interval prevents determination of the atmospheric CO2 level and further assessment on the impact of its fluctuation. Here, we reconstruct the [CO2](atm) level during 2.77-2.52Ma based on a new developed proxy of stomatal index on Typha orientalis leaves from Shanxi, North China, and depict the first [CO2](atm) curve over the past 5Ma by using stomata-based [CO2](atm) data. Comparisons of the terrestrial-based [CO2](atm) and the existed marine-based [CO2](aq) curves show a similar general trend but with different intensity of fluctuations. Our data reveal that the high peak of [CO2](atm) occurred at 2.77-2.52Ma with a lower [CO2](aq) background. The subsequent sharp fall in [CO2](atm) level might be responsible for the intensification of the NHG based on their general temporal synchronism. These findings shed a significant light for our understanding toward the [CO2](atm) changes and its ecological impact since 5Ma

Himalayan glaciers experienced significant mass loss during later phases of little ice age

To date, there is a gap in the data about the state and mass balance of glaciers in the climate-sensitive subtropical regions during the Little Ice Age (LIA). Here, based on an unprecedented tree-ring sampling coverage, we present the longest reconstructed mass balance record for the Western Himalayan glaciers, dating to 1615. Our results confirm that the later phase of LIA was substantially briefer and weaker in the Himalaya than in the Arctic and subarctic regions. Furthermore, analysis of the time-series of the mass-balance against other time-series shows clear evidence of the existence of (i) a significant glacial decay and a significantly weaker magnitude of glaciation during the latter half of the LIA; (ii) a weak regional mass balance dependence on either the El Ninõ-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) or the Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) taken in isolation, but a considerable combined influence of both of them during the LIA; and (iii) in addition to anthropogenic climate change, the strong effect from the increased yearly concurrence of extremely high TSI with El Ninõ over the past five decades, resulting in severe glacial mass loss. The generated mass balance time-series can serve as a source of reliable reconstructed data to the scientific community.We express our gratitude to Prof. Sunil Bajpai, Director, BSIP for providing official permission to publish (vide BSIP/RDCC/89/2016–2017) and necessary facilities to carry out this work. We also thank the PCCFs Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, and DFO Uttarkashi and other forest office staffs of the Indian Himalayan states for their help and providing necessary facilities during tree-ring sampling. We thank Mrs. Meenakshi Joshi (IFS) Uttarakhand for her insights on the topic and constructive suggestions. We thank Prof. Hans W. Linderholm and Prof. Dan J. Smith for sharing the mass balance time-series for Storglaciären (Sweden) and Canadian glaciers, respectively. M.S. acknowledges the financial support by the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi vide SERB-DST Project No. SR/FTP/ES-127/2014 [Young Scientist Scheme]. P.S.R. extends his sincere acknowledgement to SERB–DST projects SR/DGH/44/2012 and SR/DGH/56/2013 for financial support to carry out this research work

Rising winter temperatures might augment increasing wheat yield in Gangetic Plains

Acknowledgements We express our gratitude to Dr. (Mrs.) Vandana Prasad, Director, BSIP, for providing official permission to publish (vide: BSIP/RDCC/Publication no.23/2019-2020) and necessary facilities to carry out this work. PSR and MS acknowledge the in-house Project-8 of Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.Peer reviewedPostprin