Meghalaya Stalagmite Unlocks Six Millennia of Monsoon History
A stalagmite extracted from a Meghalaya cave has yielded a continuous six-thousand-year record of monsoon variability, offering scientists an unprecedented archive of subcontinental climate dynamics. The data promises to refine predictive models for a region where agriculture and water security hinge on seasonal rains.
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and international collaborators analyzed oxygen isotope ratios in the calcite layers of the stalagmite, constructing a high-resolution timeline of rainfall intensity stretching back to the mid-Holocene. The record reveals previously unknown multi-decadal drought cycles that coincide with the decline of ancient urban settlements in the Indo-Gangetic plain, suggesting that climate stress played a decisive role in historical societal collapses. The sample's exceptional preservation owes to the cave's stable microclimate and the region's status as one of the wettest places on Earth, where continuous dripping ensures uninterrupted growth.
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