RESEARCH

CURRENT WORK

[A] Assessing risks and resilience of semi-arid colonial societies to climate shifts. A social geosciences approach to documenting the frequency of multidecadal droughts and its impacts on human-environment systems over the longue duree in semi-arid regions of peninsular India. Project Link

[B] Reinterpreting the paleorecord of mineral dust in the southwest United States: A geochemical approach for fingerprinting sources of mineral dust to de-convolve contributions from hydrological, atmospheric and human factors

[C] Corals as environmental archives of particulate matter: Quantifying particulate matter trapped in coral skeletons using non-destructive geophysical techniques such as X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) scanning and magnetic measurements.

[D] Constraining the fate of microplastics in coastal sediments: By measuring grain size and characterizing microplastics in water samples and short sediment cores retrieved from coastal San Diego Bay, we are developing a model to account for sequestering of microplastics in coastal sediments that in turn impacts bioavailability of microplastics in marine environments (more sequestration reduces bioavailability of microplastics in marine environments). This project was started by an undergraduate student, Ryan Fontaine, as part of my course (ENVS 4100: Marine and the maritime) at the University of Colorado, Boulder

COMPLETED PROJECTS

[A] Reconstructing African dust emission over the last millennium using ⁴He in corals and carbonates.

(Ph.D project. PI: Sujoy Mukhopadhya. Harvard University)

[B] Constraining the recovery of the ocean carbonate system following the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) extinction event, using instantaneous sedimentation rates derived from extraterrestrial ³He in marine carbonates

(Ph.D project, PIs: Sujoy Mukhopadhyay, Harvard University and Richard Norris, Scripps Oceanography, University of California-San Diego)

[C] Constraining the evolution of seawater chemistry over the past 500 million years using clumped oxygen isotopes in calcium carbonate veins and foramanifera and Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios in well-preserved fossils.

(Postdoctoral project, PI: Robert Eagle and Aradhna Tripati, University of California-Los Angeles)

R. Ray., *Bhattacharya, A., Arora, G., Bajaj, K., Horton, K., Chen, Shi., Chakraborty, S., and Bazaz, A. “Extreme rainfall deficits were not the cause of recurring colonial era famines of southern Indian semi-arid regions.” Scientific Reports, Nature. Vol 11. 17568 (2021)

*Bhattacharya, A., Leonard-Pingel, J.S., Chakraborty, S., Sarkar, S., Ambili., A, Kumar, P., Ray, R., Bajaj, K. and Sabale, P.D. “Sediments in man-made ‘lakes’ in semi-arid hotspots of western India preserve high-resolution records of regional rainfall variability.” Under review, Frontiers

Liu, B., Xie, L., Smith, K., Angus, M., Gudoshava, M., Argent, R., Sun, X., Liess, S. and Bhattacharya, A. “The Role of the Atlantic Ocean in Determining the Recent Multi-Decadal Drought of East Africa.” Under review, Nature Communication.

Bajaj, K., *Bhattacharya, A., Chakraborty, S., Ray, R., Chatterjee, A., Balaji, R., vance, E., et al., “Long-term climate database for science and society for the Indian sub-continent.” In prep, Scientific Data

*Bhattacharya, A., Subramanium, A., Evan, A., Balaji, R., Schrag, D., A., Mukhopadhyay, S., Williams, E.A. “Dust response to 18^th and 19th century droughts of the in the Sahara-Sahel region from a northern red sea coral.” In prep

Bhattacharya, A., Das, H.H., Bell, E.A., Bhattacharya, A., Chatterjee, N. Saha, L. and Dutt, A. “Restoration of Late-Neoarchean-early Cambrian Tectonics in Rengali Orogen and its environs (Eastern India): The Antarctic connection.” Lithos, Vol. 263, 15, 190-2012. (2016)

Semazzi, F., Liu, B., Xie, L., Smith, K., Angus, M., Gudoshava, M., Argent, R., Sun, X., Liess, S., and Bhattacharya, A. “Decadal variability of Eastern African Monsoon.” CLIVAR Exchanges Special Issue on Monsoons: Advancing understanding of monsoon variability and improving predictions.” Guest-editors: Paul Dirmeyer and Andy Turner. (2015)

Mahowald, N. M., Kloster, S., Engelstaedter, S., Moore, J. K., Mukhopadhyay, S. McConnell, J. R., Albani, S., Doney, S. C., Bhattacharya, A., Curran, M. A. J., Flanner, M. G., Hoffman, F. M., Lawrence, D. M., Lindsay, K., Mayewski, P. A., Neff, L., Rothenberg, D., Thomas, E., Thornton, P. E., Zender, C. S. “Observed 20th century desert dust variability: impact on climate and biogeochemistry.” Atmospheric chemistry and Physics, Vol. 10, 22, 10875-10893. (2010)

Bhattacharya, A. and Mukhopadhyay, S. “A high resolution record of 18^th-20^th century dust emission rates from the Sahara-Sahel region of Africa.” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 73, 13, A118-A118. (2010)

Mukhopadhyay, S. and Bhattacharya, A. “Dust Emission from the Sahara-Sahel region over the past 150 years.” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 72, 12, A661-A661. (2009)

CONFERENCE PAPERS (* student/group members)

[i] Paleoclimate

Bhattacharya, A., *Ray, R., Arora, G., *Chen, S., *Horton, K., Chakraborty, S., and Bazaz, A. “Extreme rainfall deficits were not the cause of recurring colonial era famines of southern Indian semi-arid regions ” (2021). Submitted, Frontiers in Geosciences conference, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India

Sarkar, S., Bhattacharya, A., Leonard-Pingel, J., Michelson, A., et al. “Sediments in man-made reservoirs of western India preserve records of regional rainfall variability” (2021). Submitted, American Geophysical Union (AGU), Fall meeting

Bhattacharya, A., *Ray, R., Arora, G., Chakraborty, S and *Bajaj, K. “A longue duree approach in assessing climate risks: A 200-year record from semi-arid regions of peninsular India. Colorado WASH Virtual symposium (2021).

*Bajaj, K., Bazaz, A., S. Chakraborty and Bhattacharya, A. “Regional paleoclimate and environmental database: Where paleodata meet socioeconomic-political decision making.” International Virtual conference on ‘Earth’s changing climate: Past, present and future (2020).

*Bajaj, K., Bhattacharya, A., Chakraborty, S., Bazaz, A., B. Rajagopalan and E. Vance. “A database of paleo climate and environment: A regional initiative for science and society.” American Geophysical Union (AGU), Fall meeting (2020).

*Ray, R., Bhattacharya, A., Bazaz, A., Arora, G. and Mitra, W. “Climate Adaptation: What worked and what did not. A 200-year record of the 18^th and 19^th century British administrative documents pertaining to semi-arid regions of peninsular India.” American Geophysical Union (AGU), Fall meeting (2020). Paper no. GC035-06.

*Ray, R., Bhattacharya, A., and Bazaz, A. “The importance of 18^th-19^th century British Institutional Archival documents in climatic studies.” International Conference on Paleoclimate Changes (IPCP), Virtual Platform (2020).

Bhattacharya, A., *Ray, R., Arora, G., and Mitra, W. “Towards a new framework to characterize a new framework for understanding long term community resilience to climate variability: A pilot study focusing on 19^th-20^th century historical evolution of communities in semi-arid regions of western India.” Past Global Changes (PAGES) Past Socio-environmental Systems Meeting, Chile (2020). Under review.

*Ray, R. and Bhattacharya, A. “Assessing the impacts of climate variability-a study of institutional archival data spanning 1700-1947 (British Colonial Period) pertaining to semi-arid tracts of peninsular India.” European Geophysical Union (EGU) General Assembly, Vienna, paper no. 2020-5350. (2020)

Bhattacharya, A., *Bennett, A., Marchitto, T. and Leithold, E. “Coarse-grained mineral dust deposition records in alpine lakes suggest more frequent tornadoes during warmer intervals of the late Holocene period in arid and semi-arid tracts of North America.” European Geophysical Union (EGU) General Assembly, Vienna, paper no. 2020-190. (2020)

Bhattacharya, A., *Bennett, A., Marchitto, T. and Leithold, E. “Coarse-grained mineral dust deposition records in alpine lakes suggest more frequent tornadoes during warmer intervals of the late Holocene period in arid and semi-arid tracts of North America.” 50^th International Arctic workshop, Boulder, CO. (2020)

*Bennett, A., *Pedrazza, A., Werner, E., Vollmer. T., Bhattacharya, A., Marchitto, T., Leithold, E. and Tripati, A. “Coarse-grained mineral dust deposition records in alpine lakes suggest more frequent tornadoes during warmer intervals of the late Holocene period in arid and semi-arid tracts of North America.” 49^th polar workshop, Stockholm. (2019)

*Ray, R. and Bhattacharya, A. “Accounting for climate variability in understanding societal outcomes: Lessons from an institutional archival study spanning the 18^th and 19^th centuries in semi-arid tracts of peninsular India during the British Colonial Period.” European Geophysical Union (EGU) General Assembly, Vienna, paper no. 2019-1622. (2019)

Bhattacharya, A., *Bajaj, K., *Chatterjee, A., Chakraborty, S. and Bazaz, A.“A paleoclimate database for the Indian subcontinent.” European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, Vienna, paper no. 2018-15244. (2018)

*Ray, R., *Horton, K., Bhattacharya, A. and Bazaz, A. “Assessing impacts of decadal climate variability: The Little Ice Age in Central and southern Colonial India.” European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, Vienna, paper no. 2018-1246. (2018)

*Pedraza, A., *Kingsley, C.K., Marchitto, T., Lora, J.M., ^#Pollen, A.F., Vollmer, T., Leithold E.A., Mitchell, J., Tripati, A. and Bhattacharya, A. “Coarse-grained mineral dust deposition in alpine lake sediments: Implications for regional droughts and land-use changes in southwest USA.” American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, New Orleans, paper no. P 31B-1276. (2017)

*Urbalejo, A., Bhattacharya, A., Gee, J., Mitra, R., Carilli J., Hangsterfer, A. and Feinberg, J. “Characterizing magnetic properties in Belize Corals.” International Conference on Rock Magnetism (ICRM 17), Utrecht, Netherlands. (2017)

Bhattacharya, A., Loro, J.M., Pollen, A.F., Vollmer, T., Marchitto, T., Leithold, E., Mitchell, J. and Tripati, A. "Alpine Lakes preserve mineral dust signatures: Implications for long range Mineral dust transport and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) tornado frequency in the United States." American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, San Francisco, paper no. PP43B-2324. (2016)

Vollmer, T., Bhattacharya, A., Pollen, A.F., and Leithold, E. L. “Tornado frequencies since the Last Glacial Maximum in the Midwestern United States and implications for dust deposition.” Earth System and Space Science Poster Conference (ESSS) University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder. (2015)

Pollen, A.F., Bhattacharya, A., and Leithold, E. L. “Holocene dust deposition in alpine lakes of the western U.S - resolving regional and remote sources in sedimentary archives.” Geological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland, paper no. 229-38. (2015)

Bhattacharya, A., Mukhopadhyay, S., Maloof, A.C., Williams and E., Evan, A.T. "⁴He in Bahamas Carbonates: A Link between Dust Export and North African Mega-droughts over the Last Millennium." American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, San Francisco, paper no. A 44C-07. (2014)

Bhattacharya, A., Mukhopadhyay, S. and Maloof, A. “Droughts in the Sahara-Sahel Region; Lessons from dust record of the past 300 years.” American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, San Francisco, Paper no. PP 24B-02. (2009)

Bhattacharya, A. and Mukhopadhyay, S. “Droughts in North Africa- New insights from a 200 year record of Helium-4, a proxy for dust, in a Red Sea Coral.” American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, San Francisco, paper no. PP 13A-1420. (2008)

Bhattacharya, A. and Mukhopadhyay, S. “Dust Generation from the Sahara-Sahel Region: New insights from Helium-4 in a Red Sea Coral.” American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, San Francisco, paper no. GC 13A-0951. (2007)

Bhattacharya, A., Mukhopadhyay, S. and Schrag, D.P. “Reconstructing drought patterns in Sahara and Sub Saharan Africa from Red Sea coral.” American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, San Francisco, paper no. GC 21A-1322. (2006)

[ii] Paleoceanography

Bhattacharya, A., *Kingsley, C.K., *Goldfarb, L., *Stolpmann, C., Hangsterfer, A. and Carilli J. “X-ray Fluorescence can characterize resistant phases in coral skeletons: A 20^th century record of climate and environmental history from four coral sites near Belize.” European Geophysical Union (EGU) General Assembly, Vienna, paper no. 2019-1642. (2019)

*Goldfarb, L., *Kingsley, C.K., *Urbalejo, A., Hangsterfer, A., Gee, J., Carilli, J., Feinberg, J., Field, D., Mitra, R. and Bhattacharya, A. “Combining X-Ray Fluorescence and magnetic Techniques to quantify elemental concentrations in coral cores from Belize.” American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, New Orleans, paper no. P 13A-1070. (2017)

*Longley, P., *Cheng, N., *Fontaine, R. and Bhattacharya, A. “Coral Seas in fifty years: Need for local policies.” American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, New Orleans, paper no. PP13A-1069. (2017)

*Urbalejo, A., Bhattacharya, A., and Gee, J. “Magnetic measurements from coral cores in Belize.” Earth System and Space Science Poster Conference (ESSS) University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder. (2016)

*Kingsley, C.K., Bhattacharya, A., Hangsterfer, A., and Carilli, J. “Testing the efficacy of XRF techniques to quantify elemental concentrations in coral cores from Belize.” Earth System and Space Science Poster Conference (ESSS) University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder. (2016)

*Kingsley, C.K., Bhattacharya, A., Hangsterfer, A., Carilli, J. and Field, D. "Using X-Ray Fluorescence to Quantify Metal Concentration in coral cores from Belize." American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, San Francisco, paper no. PP43D-1. (2016)

*Urbalejo, A., Bhattacharya, A., Gee, J. and Feinberg, J. “Magnetic measurements from coral cores in Belize”. American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, San Francisco, paper no. GP 51C-1394. (2016)

Bhattacharya, A., Mukhopadhyay, S., Higgins, S. and Ackert, R. “Helium isotope based record of continental accumulation rates and provenance provides evidence of reorganization of North Atlantic circulation patterns over the last 6 Ma.” 46^th International Arctic Workshop, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder. (2016)

Bhattacharya, A. and Mukhopadhyay, S. "What Drives clay-carbonate cyclicity in marine sediments? A case study in the south Atlantic from the late cretaceous to early Paleogene." European Geosciences Union (EGU) Annual meeting, Vienna, paper no. 1338. (2013)

Bhattacharya, A., Higgins, S.M., Mukhopadhyay, S. and Middleton, J.L. “Helium isotopes in marine sediments as tracers of continental input, accumulation, provenance over the last 6 Ma.” American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, San Francisco, paper no. PP51B-2116. (2012)

Bhattacharya, A., Mukhopadhyay, S., Hull, P. and Norris, R. “A high resolution 1.5 myrs record of extraterrestrial ³He from the Shatsky Rise following the K/T mass extinction event.” American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, San Francisco, paper no. PP 23A-1730. (2010)

[iii] Low-temperature geochemistry

*Fontaine, R., Hangsterfer, A. and Bhattacharya, A. “Investigating the fate of microplastics in the San Diego Bay area: A paleoenvironmental approach.” American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, New Orleans, paper no. OS21-1342. (2017)

Petryshyn, V.A., Merring, J.A., Mitsunaga, B.A., Eagle, R., Dunbar, R. B., Bhattacharya, A. and Tripati, A. "A Clumped isotope calibration for terrestrial microbial carbonates." American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, San Francisco, paper no. PP 51A- 1106. (2014)

[iv] High-temperature geochemistry

*Deporter, K., Sequeira, N., Marchitto, T., Bhattacharya, A. and Bhattacharya, A. “Dating the magmato-metamorphic events in Chottanagpur Gneiss Complex, Eastern India.” Geological Society of America (GSA) Annual meeting, Seattle, Washington, paper no. T-252-305672. (2017)

Bhattacharya, Abhijit., Bhattacharya, A., Bell, E.A. and Haridas, H. "The Pan African Rengali Orogen, Eastern India: Implications for Gondwanaland." American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting, San Francisco, paper no. V13D-2882. (2016)

[v] Climate communication

Bhattacharya, A. and Roeder, L. “Role of institutions in improving climate communication. Invited abstract. American Geophysical Union (AGU) Chapman conference ‘Communicating climate science, a historic look into the future.’ Granby, Colorado. (2013)

1. Isotope mass spectrometry (noble gases, oxygen and carbon)

2. Elemental geochemistry (XRF, ICP-MS, ion probe and laser ablation)

3. Data mining from institutional documents

4. Statistical analyses and modeling of climate and textual data.

5. Experience in developing of user supported climate database for stake-holders

1. Past Global Changes (PAGES)

2. Geochemical Society of America, American Geophysical Union (AGU)

3. Geological Society of America (GSA)

4. National Association of Science Writers (NASW)

5. Earth Science Women’s Network (ESWN)

6. The Dissertations Initiative for the Advancement of Climate Change Research (DISCCRS)

SITN Seminar, Harvard Medical School (2012). Link

The AGU Chapman conference on ‘Communicating climate science, a historic look into the future’, Granby, Colorado. (2013). Link.

More than Scientists (2018) Link

Mongabey (2020). Link

Mongabey (2020). Link

Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company (BETC), Science Shorts (2020) Link

Longmont Museum and Cultural Center (2021). Link

The Times of India (2021). Link

The Deccan Herald (2021). Link

DETAILS COMING SOON WITH PHOTOS. HERE ARE THE BASICS!

Fingerprinting the dust record

• Anne Bennett, B.Sc (2019)

• Alejandra Pedrazza, B.Sc (2019)

Corals and environmental archives

• Conner Kingsley, B.Sc (2017)

• Alexis Urbalejo, B.Sc (2017)

• Perri Longley, B.Sc (2018)

• Lauren Goldfarb, B.Sc (2018)

• Nicole Cheng, B.Sc (2021)

Climate impacts in peninsular India

• Keyle Horton, B.Sc (2018)

• Shi Chen, Expected B.Sc (2021)

• Michael Desimone, B.A (2018)

Marine microplastic

• Ryan Fontaine, B.Sc (2018)

Snowball earth (Dating Zircons)

• Kelsey Deporter, B.Sc (2018)