Author Correction: Intensified summer monsoon and the urbanization of Indus Civilization in northwest India.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.NERC (NE/H011463/1

Intensified summer monsoon and the urbanization of Indus Civilization in northwest India

Today the desert margins of northwest India are dry and unable to support large populations, but were densely occupied by the populations of the Indus Civilization during the middle to late Holocene. The hydroclimatic conditions under which Indus urbanization took place, which was marked by a period of expanded settlement into the Thar Desert margins, remains poorly understood. We measured the isotopic values (δ18O and δD) of gypsum hydration water in paleolake Karsandi sediments in northern Rajasthan to infer past changes in lake hydrology, which is sensitive to changing amounts of precipitation and evaporation. Our record reveals that relatively wet conditions prevailed at the northern edge of Rajasthan from ~5.1 ± 0.2 ka BP, during the beginning of the agricultural-based Early Harappan phase of the Indus Civilization. Monsoon rainfall intensified further between 5.0 and 4.4 ka BP, during the period when Indus urban centres developed in the western Thar Desert margin and on the plains of Haryana to its north. Drier conditions set in sometime after 4.4 ka BP, and by ~3.9 ka BP an eastward shift of populations had occurred. Our findings provide evidence that climate change was associated with both the expansion and contraction of Indus urbanism along the desert margin in northwest India

Clinicopathologic study associated with long-term survival in Japanese patients with node-negative breast cancer

This study was undertaken to determine the absolute and relative value of blood vessel invasion (BVI) using both factor VIII-related antigen and elastica van Gieson staining, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), p53, c- erb B-2, and conventional prognostic factors in predicting relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) rates associated with long-term survival in Japanese patients with node-negative breast cancer. Two hundred patients with histological node-negative breast cancer were studied. We investigated nine clinicopathological factors, including PCNA, p53, c- erb B-2 using permanent-section immunohistochemistry, clinical tumour size (T), histological grade (HG), mitotic index (MI), tumour necrosis (TN), lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI) and BVI, followed for a median of 10 years (range 1–20). Twenty-one patients (10.5%) had recurrence and 15 patients (7.5%) died of breast cancer. Univariate analysis showed that BVI, PCNA, T, HG, MI, p53, c- erb B-2 and LVI were significantly predictive of 20-year RFS or OS. Multivariate analysis showed that BVI (P = 0.0159, P = 0.0368), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) (P = 0.0165, P = 0.0001), and T (P = 0.0190, P = 0.0399) were significantly independent prognostic factors for RFS or OS respectively. BVI, PCNA and T were independent prognostic indicators for RFS or OS in Japanese patients with node-negative breast cancer and are useful in selecting high-risk patients who may be eligible to receive strong adjuvant therapies. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Neotectonics of western India: evidence from deformed Quaternary fluvial sequences, Mahi River, Gujarat

A Quaternary fluvial sequence along the Mahi River, Gujarat, western India, shows evidence for a discrete episode of normal faulting and related surface slumping. Four mapped NW-striking faults have throws ranging from 1 m to over 3 m, and have related growth folds in synchronous sediment units. A slump sheet moved tens of metres northeastward down the 0.7° dip slope of one tilt block during displacement on its bounding fault. The exposed part of the internally folded sheet is probably one side of a lobate slump mass, several hundred metres in width. Fault activity began after deposition of a lower gravel, which regional correlations suggest is about 300 ka old. Faulting ended just before deposition of an upper gravel-sand complex dated by luminescence techniques in correlated sections at no younger than about 60 ka. The Mahi River section shows that neotectonic activity in Peninsular India, exemplified by the 1993 Killari (Latur) earthquake, has a mid- to late Pleistocene component

Small But Important: The Role of Small Floodplain Tributaries to River Nutrient Budgets

The fertile Indo-Gangetic floodplain contains numerous small, rain-fed rivers. These rivers contribute to the river water chemistry of the Ganges River; however, these small floodplain rivers are never studied nor monitored owing to their smaller size with reference to catchment area (∼1000–10000 km²) and volume of discharge (∼10–100 m³/s). Here we quantify the role of a small flood plain river, the Pandu River, in terms of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphate export to Ganges River. We present results from time series sampling campaigns over 2015 and 2016. Our result shows that Pandu River exports 793 ± 128 t/yr of DIN and 177 ± 29 t/yr phosphate to the Ganges River, which accounts for 0.1% and 0.42% of the total DIN and phosphate fluxes, respectively, that Ganges River exports into Bay of Bengal. Furthermore, we show that the small floodplain rivers in the Indo-Gangetic floodplain could collectively contribute ∼15% and ∼61% of the DIN and phosphate fluxes, respectively, that Ganges River delivers into Bay of Bengal. Therefore, runoff from small floodplain rivers is an important flux that could contribute to the dissolved nutrient budget of large river systems, and they must be better monitored to address future challenges in river basin management

Author Correction: Intensified summer monsoon and the urbanization of Indus Civilization in northwest India.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.NERC (NE/H011463/1

Do stable isotope data from calcrete record Late Pleistocene monsoonal climate variation in the Thar Desert of India?

Isotopic and geochemical evidence of paleoclimates, especially for the last glaciation, has been obtained from deep confined groundwaters of southern India. The d13C, d18O, chloride, and deuterium analyses of groundwaters show distinct excursions inferred to be related to climatic variations. The arid climatic episode associated with the last glaciation (18,000 ± 2000 yr B.P.) is conspicuously identified by signatures of relatively enriched d13C (-10 to -12‰ PDB) and d18O (-5.3 to -4.8‰ SMOW) values, and high chloride concentration (80 to 160 mg/l). The transition from an arid to humid period ca. 12,000–8000 yr B.P. is shown by a decreasing trend in the d13C (-9.5 to -17‰) and d18O (-4.5 to -6.3‰) contents of groundwaters. The late Holocene (since 4000 yr B.P.), marked by a more humid but unstable climate, is identified by further depletion of d13C (-13 to -20‰) and d18O (-5.2 to -6.3‰). Similar variation between d18O and chloride values in confined groundwaters further demonstrates two distinct climatic excursions (arid and humid) governed by the “amount effect.” This is the first time that isotopic and geochemical signatures related to changing paleoclimates have been identified in the confined groundwaters of the southern Indian landmass

New Late Cretaceous titanosaur sauropod dinosaur egg clutches from lower Narmada valley, India: Palaeobiology and taphonomy

The Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Lameta Formation is well-known for its osteological and oological remains of sauropods from the eastern and western parts of the Narmada Valley, central India. The newly documented ninety-two titanosaur clutches from Dhar District (Madhya Pradesh State, central India) add further to this extensive data. Previously parataxonomy of these titanosaur clutches was carried out with a few brief reports on palaeobiological and taphonomic aspects. The quantitative data collected from the new clutches (this study) opens avenues to additionally understand more about titanosaur palaeobiology and to qualitatively understand preservation and taphonomical aspects of their egg clutches. Herein, we document 256 eggs and three clutch patterns (viz. circular, combination, linear) that are assignable to six oospecies. The high oospecies diversity points to a possible high diversity in titanosaur taxa in the Indian sub-continent though it is not reflected in titanosaurid body fossils. All the macro- and micro-structures helped in understanding egg deformation and preservation from a taphonomic point of view. Additionally, a pathologic egg documented from the study area helped in understanding the reproductive biology of titanosaurs, such as the possibility of segmented oviduct and sequential laying of eggs by titanosaurs. In addition, we made an attempt to infer aspects such as egg burial, absence of parental care, colonial nesting behavior. All the egg clutches were observed within sandy limestone and calcareous sandstone lithologies that occur in scattered outcrops with rocks showing floating siliciclastic grains in a micritic groundmass. Further, the presence of ferruginous sandstone in the Jamniapura and Padlya regions (Dhar District, central India) is indicative of a possible alluvial/fluvial setting. The presence of grainy intraclastic fabric, alveolar-septal fabrics, brecciation and shrinkage cracks observed in the clutch-bearing rocks are indicative of a low energy-low gradient palustrine depositional condition in a fluvial/alluvial setting. Finally, we envisage that a few egg clutches of this area were laid close to lake/pond margins while most were laid away from the lake/pond margins, and thus, were hatched

Late quaternary (weichselian) alluvial history and neotectonic control on fluvial landscape development in the southern Körös plain, Hungary

Four drill cores and a clay pit section have been examined in the southern part of the Körös plain to understand the history and controls on alluvial sedimentation for the last ∼ 40 ka. Four facies groups were identified, such as channel, channel margin, floodplain and floodbasin with seven distinctive facies. Magnetic susceptibility and mineralogy have further characterized the sedimentary facies indicating shifts in humidity conditions, variations in sediment flux and pedogenesis. Detailed pollen analysis of a 7.5 m thick clayey succession indicated climatic variability within the MIS 3 period. The spatial distribution of the different facies allowed outlining alluvial architecture of the study area. Three depositional units composed of various facies were identified based on OSL and radiocarbon data. These packages correspond to three major phases of channel activity: (F-I) pre-LGM period (> 30 ka to 24 ka), (F-II) post-LGM interstadial (18-16 ka), and (F-III) Late Glacial < 15 ka to ∼ 10 ka). The pre-LGM and post-LGM "interstadial" phases are characterized by meandering river patterns, while the Late Glacial fluvial activity is characterized by a braided system in the area. Higher sediment supply feeding this braided river was probably caused by neotectonic uplift of the southern margin of the basin, documented by a significant stratigraphic gap between 25 and 14 ka