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Science 2 April 1999:
Vol. 284. no. 5411, pp. 125 - 128
DOI: 10.1126/science.284.5411.125
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Reports

High-Resolution Holocene Environmental Changes in the Thar Desert, Northwestern India

Y. Enzel, 1 L. L. Ely, 2 S. Mishra, 3 R. Ramesh, 4 R. Amit, 5 B. Lazar, 1 S. N. Rajaguru, 3 V. R. Baker, 6 A. Sandler 5

Sediments from Lunkaransar dry lake in northwestern India reveal regional water table and lake level fluctuations over decades to centuries during the Holocene that are attributed to changes in the southwestern Indian monsoon rains. The lake levels were very shallow and fluctuated often in the early Holocene and then rose abruptly around 6300 carbon-14 years before the present (14C yr B.P.). The lake completely desiccated around 4800 14C yr B.P. The end of this 1500-year wet period coincided with a period of intense dune destabilization. The major Harrapan-Indus civilization began and flourished in this region 1000 years after desiccation of the lake during arid climate and was not synchronous with the lacustral phase.

1 Institute of Earth Sciences and Department of Geography, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
2 Department of Geology, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA.
3 Deccan College, Deccan College Road, Pune 411006, India.
4 Earth Science Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad 380009, India.
5 Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhei Israel Street, Jerusalem, Israel.
6 Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.

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