Palaeoclimatic conditions in the upper Pleistocene and Holocene Bhimtal-Naukuchiatal lake basin in south-central Kumaun, North India

A 52 m thick upper Pleistocene and Holocene terrestrial succession in the Bhimtal-Naukuchiatal basin, south-central Kumaun Himalaya, India was studied using chronological, palaeontological, palynological and δ13C measurements. The section recorded evidence for climatic changes. At least two phases of arid climate and one phase of humid climate were recognised. Preliminary palaeomagnetic studies revealed a reversal of polarity, presumably correlatable with the Mono Lake excursion. Prior to this, no reversal event in the upper Pleistocene-Holocene terrestrial sediments of Indian subcontinent is known. A fossiliferous horizon, discovered in the lower part of the section, consisted of Sorex and Mus. This is the only report of a Late Pleistocene micromammalian assemblage in the Kumaun Himalaya.