Extreme events like drought, forest fires, and flash floods—which have an effect on both people and the environment—have increased significantly in the era of climate change. Understanding the dynamics of forest fires in the modern era and predicting future conditions requires knowledge of forest fires, along with the role of humans and the climate. This prompts us to attempt to address some of the outstanding questions about how human evolution, climate change, and forest fires are linked in the past. 

Research Projects

• Reconstruction of forest fire and human involvement during the late Holocene using black carbon concentration and carbon isotopes

• Reconstruction of the terrestrial nitrogen cycle using nitrogen isotopes of black carbon during the late Holocene

• Influence of catchment fire and carbon loading on the Himalayan lake nitrogen cycle during the Quaternary

The Cambrian Period is characterized by the big bang of biology on the geological time scale. Studies based on paleontology, geochemistry, stable isotopes, and biomarkers have suggested that the evolution of the ocean and atmospheric chemistry occurred concurrently with the radiation of biology. The oxygen levels were increased, which supported the complex life that formed. 

The stable isotopes (carbon and nitrogen) of organic matter, which are remnants of life preserved in sedimentary rocks (shale and carbonate), are a potential tool for understanding changes in biology and the chemistry of the oceans and atmosphere. 

Research project

• Ocean redox conditions and changes in biology during the early Cambrian interval: inferences from stable isotopes of carbonate formations of the Marwar Supergroup, Rajasthan

The Himalaya, the third pole of the Earth, is one of the world's longest mountain chains, controlling the hydroclimatic conditions of neighbouring countries such as India, China, and Pakistan. To understand the hydroclimate conditions of the Himalaya, scientists from different disciplines of the geosciences have investigated and shown the long-term changes in geography, ice cover, vegetation, lake ecology, human evolution, forest fire, and climate using different proxies like pollen and diatom assemblages, major and trace elements, stable isotopes, and sedimentary features. 

Among different environmental parameters, we have focused on the evolution of lake biogeochemistry in the Himalayan region and associated climate conditions. For that, we are using different constituents of lake sediments, such as diatoms, carbonate, organic matter, etc.

Research projects

• Understanding of spatial and temporal variation of Himalayan lake biogeochemistry and its controlling climate using stable isotopes