Abundance and Ecology of Endemic Asterorotalia trispinosa from the Western Bay of Bengal: Implications for its Application as a Paleomonsoon Proxy

A total of 97 surface sediment samples were collected from the continental shelf and slope of the western Bay of Bengal to assess the potential application of Asterorotalia trispinosa as a paleomonsoon proxy. The relative abundance of living as well as total （living and dead） A. trispinosa ranges from being absent to a maximum of-31%. The highest abundance ofA. trispinosa is close to the outfall region of the Ganga-Brahmaputra Rivers and decreases away from the river mouths. Contrary to that, A. trispinosa is rare in front of both the Cauvery and Pennar river outfall regions, in the central part of the western Bay of Bengal. The living A. trispinosa abundance is the lowest in between two major river systems, viz. Ganga-Brahmaputra-Mahanadi and Krishna-Godavari. The relative abundance of both the total and living A. trispinosa is strongly positively correlated with ambient seawater temperature, and negatively correlated with %Corg and salinity. Based on the spatial distribution, we conclude that A. trispinosa is stenohaline in nature, rather than euryhaline, and further that the increased relative abundance of A. trispinosa indicates warmer and only marginally hyposaline environment. Even though the ecological preference of A. trispinosa suggests it as a potential paleomonsoon proxy, the restricted distribution implies limited application.

Deterioration of Early Holocene coral reef due to sea level rise along west coast of India:Benthic foraminiferal testimony

A total of 103 surface sediment samples collected from the water depth range of 15-3300 m along Vijaydurg-Karwar stretch of central west coast of India were analyzed for foraminiferal content. Relict benthic foraminiferal assemblage was noted within 50--135 m water depth. The relict benthic foraminiferal assemblage that includes Amphistegina, Operculina and Alveolinella in sediment samples within the water depth of 85-- 135 m indicates presence of coral reef at this depth during Early Holocene. The presence of barnacle fouling on Relict foraminifera at 60--90 m confirms the paleo-shoreline. The shallow depth zone is characterized by presence of agglutinated relict foraminifera. The agglutinated forms indicate freshwater influx, which eventually increased the sea level and subsequently deteriorated the paleo-coral reef.