Neste estudo investigou-se a variabilidade da Monção Sul-Americana (MSA) ao longo dos últimos 38ka, por meio de um registro em alta resolução de \'\'delta\' POT.18\'O baseado em três espeleotemas da caverna Shatuca, localizada no norte do Peru (~ 5ºS). O registro da caverna Shatuca é um dos primeiros registros paleoclimáticos da zona de altitude intermediária no flanco oriental dos Andes setentrionais (1960m). O registro isotópico da Shatuca compreende espeleotemas bem datados e de alta resolução que são usados para investigar a atividade da MSA no passado, em resposta tanto ao ciclo de precessão da insolação, como às mudanças na circulação oceânica, ocorridas durante o último período Glacial - Deglacial, as quais são definidas nos testemunhos marinhos e de gelo do Hemisfério Norte. Os registros de espeleotemas da caverna Shatuca, não mostram nenhum controle claro da insolação sobre a MSA nos Andes entre 38-11 ka AP, o que pode ser explicado por um controle predominante das condições de contorno glaciais sobre a MSA. Mudanças abruptas, entre períodos mais úmidos e mais secos da MSA, em escalas de tempo milenar, são observadas no registro de espeleotemas de Shatuca através de valores de \'\'delta\' POT.18\'O anormalmente baixos e altos, respectivamente. Estes eventos são interpretados como uma resposta aos eventos Heinrich (H) e Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) através de deslocamentos latitudinais da Zona de Convergência Intertropical (Intertropical Convergence Zone-ITCZ). No entanto, a intensidade da resposta a esses ciclos foi variável. Em particular, os episódios climáticos mais extremos foram aqueles relacionados aos eventos Heinrich 1 e 2. O período de ocorrência e a estrutura do evento Heinrich 1 (H1) são mais precisamente descritos nos espeleotemas da caverna Shatuca do que em registros anteriores dos Andes e da Bacia de Cariaco. O evento H1 é caracterizado por valores isotópicos baixos entre 18.0 e 14.7 ka AP, o que indica condições predominantemente úmidas; mas um pico, nunca antes registrado, de valores de \'\'delta\' POT.18\'O altos foi registrado em 16.2 ka AP. Este resultado é particularmente importante dado que a ITCZ poderia ter estado deslocada mais ao sul do que 5ºS. Além disso, a estrutura dos períodos do Bølling-Allerød (B/A) e Younger Dryas (YD) assemelha-se à dos testemunhos de gelo da Groenlândia. Durante o Holoceno, o clima da região da caverna Shatuca foi controlado pela insolação, consistente com outros registros de isótopos de diferentes altitudes nos Andes peruanos. O Holoceno Inferior é marcado pelo severo enfraquecimento da MSA na região da Shatuca, sendo seguido por uma tendência de aumento gradual das condições de umidade em direção ao Holoceno Superior, esta tendência climática, em longo prazo, ocorreu em união à tendência de aumento da insolação modulada pelo ciclo de precessão. Condições particularmente úmidas foram sentidas na região da caverna Shatuca após 5.0 ka AP. Várias mudanças abruptas ocorridas, em escalas de tempo centenárias e multidecenais, durante o Holoceno, são descritas pela primeira vez nos Andes. Durante o Holoceno Inferior, o caso mais extremo, é o registrado em 9.5 ka AP, mas outros eventos úmidos ocorreram também, tais como o registrado em 8.1 ka AP. Por outro lado, durante o Holoceno Médio, a comparação com outros registros andinos, na região afetada pela MSA, aponta para uma série de eventos abruptos que ocorreram entre 5.1 e 5.0 ka AP. Finalmente, um resultado importante do presente estudo é a semelhança observada, durante o Holoceno Superior, entre o registro da caverna Shatuca com o do lago Pallcacocha, situado no sul dos Andes equatorianos e amplamente utilizado como um proxy da frequência do fenômeno El Niño Oscilação Sul (El Niño Southern Oscillation -ENSO). O registro Shatuca não apresenta nenhuma evidência clara de ter sofrido algum controle climático influenciado por ENSO. Pelo contrário, propõe-se que ambos registros, o lago Pallcacocha e a caverna Shatuca, indicam um aumento da umidade entre 3.5 e 2.5 ka AP, resultado do controle da alta insolação de verão austral sobre a MSA, e de uma profunda reorganização do sistema climático ocorrido na borda oeste da MSA, entre terras altas e intermediárias dos Andes. / this study, we investigated the South American Summer Monsoon (SASM) variability through the last 38 ky with a high-resolution \'\'delta\' POT.18\'O record based on three speleothems from Shatuca cave, located in northern Peru (~ 5ºS). The Shatuca cave record is one of the first paleoclimate records from mid-altitude (1960m) sites in the northeastern Andean slopes. The Shatuca isotope record comprises well-dated and high-resolution speleothems that were used to investigate the past activity of SASM, in response to both insolation precession cycle and changes in oceanic circulation during the last Glacial-Deglacial period, defined in ice cores and marine core records from the northern Hemisphere. The speleothem records from Shatuca cave show no clear insolation control over the SASM between 38-11 ky BP, which could be explained by a prevailing control of the glacial boundary conditions over SASM. Abrupt millennial shifts between wetter and drier monsoon phases are observed in Shatuca speleothem record based on abnormally low and high values of \'\'delta\' POT.18\'O, respectively. These events are interpreted as a response to Heinrich (H) and Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) events through latitudinal displacements in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). However, the response intensity to these events was variable. In particular, the most extreme climate episodes were those related to the Heinrich events 1 and 2. The structure and timing of the Heinrich event 1 (H1) event are more precisely described in Shatuca speleothems than in previous records from Andes and Cariaco Basin. The H1 event is characterized by low ?18O values from 18.0 to 14.7 ky BP, indicative of predominantly wet conditions; but a peak, never reported before, of high \'\'delta\' POT.18\'O values is recorded at 16.2 ky BP. This result is of particular importance given that the ITCZ was probably displaced even more to the south than 5ºS. In addition, the structure of the Bølling-Allerød (B/A) and Younger Dryas (YD) periods resembles that of the Greenland ice cores. Insolation control on climate at Shatuca site is evident during the Holocene, which is consistent with other Andean isotope records from different altitudes in the Peruvian Andes. The early Holocene is marked by a extremely weak SASM activity over Shatuca area, that is followed by a gradual increasing trend toward wetter conditions at the late Holocene period, this long term climate trend occurred in union with increasing insolation trend modulated by the precession cycle. Particularly wet conditions were felt in Shatuca site after 5.0 ky BP. During the Holocene, several abrupt multidecadal to centennial events are for the first time described in Andes. During the early Holocene, the most extreme event is the one logged at 9.5 ky BP, however other wet events occurred, such as the one logged at 8.1 ky BP. On the other side, during the mid Holocene, the comparison with other Andean records affected by the SASM, points out to a striking series of events that occurred between 5.1 and 5.0 ky BP. Finally, one important result from the present study is the similarity observed during the late Holocene between Shatuca cave and the Pallcacocha lake record in southern Equadorian Andes, a record that has been widely used as a proxy for El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) frequency during Holocene. Shatuca record presents no clear evidence for climate control by ENSO. On the contrary, it is proposed that the increase in moisture logged between 3.5 and 2.5 ky BP, in both Pallcacocha lake and Shatuca cave records, resulted from high austral insolation control over the SASM and a major reorganization of the climatic system in the western border of the SASM at mid- to high altitudes of the Andes.

O objetivo da presente tese é o de documentar, em escala milenar, as variações paleoclimáticas e paleoceanográficas superficiais do Atlântico Sul Ocidental desde o Último Máximo Glacial. Com esta finalidade, foram obtidas estimativas de paleotemperatura, paleossalinidade e paleoprodutividade baseadas na análise de fauna de foraminíferos planctônicos, isótopos estáveis de oxigênio e carbono em Globigerinoides ruber e nove datações de radiocarbono em amostras de um testemunho coletado na Bacia de Santos. Os dados foram complementados com a reanálise de outro testemunho previamente coletado em outro setor da mesma Bacia. Os resultados demonstram que as mudanças paleoceanográficas registradas no período analisado podem ser parcialmente explicadas por variações na exportação de calor e sal para o hemisfério norte relacionadas à atividade da célula de transporte meridional e à configuração das correntes superficiais associadas à circulação atmosférica. Outra parte significativa da variabilidade parece estar relacionada à intensidade do Sistema de Monção da América do Sul resultante de variações na insolação de acordo com o ciclo de precessão. Os principais desvios da tendência de variação da composição isotópica da água do mar esperada em função das mudanças de insolação coincidem com os grandes pulsos de degelo ocorridos em torno de 19, 14 e 8,2 mil anos AP. / The goal of this thesis is to document the paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic changes occurred at the millennial scale since the Last Glacial Maximum at the surface Western South Atlantic. Paleotemperature, paleosalinity and paleoproductivity estimates were obtained for this purpose based on faunal changes of foraminifera assemblages, carbon and oxygen stable isotopes in Globigerinoides ruber and nine radiocarbon datings in a core retrieved at Santos Basin. These data were supplemented by the reanalysis of a second core previously analyzed from a different sector of the same basin. The results demonstrate that paleoceanographic changes recorded in the analyzed period may be partially explained by changes in the heat and salt export to the northern hemisphere related to the meridional overturning cell and the surface currents related to atmospheric circulation. Another significant portion of the observed variability seems to be related to changes in the strength of the South American Monsoon System resulting from insolation changes according to the precessional cycle. The main departures from the expected trend of variation in the isotopic composition of seawater related to insolation changes coincide with great meltwater pulses occurred around 19, 14, and 8.2 kyr BP.

Ce travail présente une analyse des systèmes turbiditiques actuels du Golfe d’Oman et de la marge est-africaine (océan Indien occidental), auparavant méconnus. Il se base sur une base de données acoustique (bathymétrie, imagerie multifaisceaux, sismique THR et multitraces) et sédimentologique (carottes küllenberg et calypso) issues de campagnes successives réalisées par le SHOM et l’IFP. L’architecture des systèmes de dépôts profonds et les processus associés ont révélé une grande diversité selon le contexte géodynamique et physiographique des marges étudiées (marge passive, marge transformante, marge active). Les différents systèmes étudiés illustrent notamment le rôle du contexte tectonique régional sur la répartition et la morphologie des dépocentres à plusieurs échelles d’observation. L'analyse détaillée des faciès et séquences sédimentaires a permis de mettre en évidence le fonctionnement sédimentaire des différents systèmes en lien avec les conditions physiographiques et environnementales régionales (influence des crues liées à la mousson sur le transfert sédimentaire). A travers la reconstruction des transferts sédimentaires dans ces systèmes turbiditiques, nous discutons de l’impact relatif des différents facteurs forçant la sédimentation gravitaire sous-marine à haute-fréquence (eustatisme, climat, et tectonique). Pour cela, une étude stratigraphique détaillée a été réalisée sur la base de différents outils (datation radiocarbone, géochimie élémentaire, biostratigraphie) permettant de contraindre dans le temps les séries sédimentaires gravitaires. L’évolution des apports sédimentaires et des processus de dépôt au cours du Quaternaire terminal, en relation avec les modifications paléo-environnementales continentales, a permis d’identifier l’impact, l’importance relative et les interactions entre les forçages externes sur le développement à haute-fréquence (103-104ans) de systèmes de dépôt gravitaires, dans divers contextes géodynamiques. Les connaissances acquises sur la sédimentation du Golfe d’Oman ont finalement permis d’alimenter une base de données sédimentologique conséquente. L’intégration de cette base dans un modèle numérique géoacoustique (« simulateur ») développé par le SHOM a permis d’évaluer quantitativement l’impact des variations sédimentaires à différentes échelles (distribution spatiale, lithologie, stratification, processus de dépôt) sur la propagation du signal acoustique pour différentes gammes de fréquence (de 300 Hz jusqu’à 3 kHz) et angles d’émission (de 0 à 90°). Ces travaux constituent une base pour la réalisation d’un modèle géoacoustique régional robuste. / This study focuses on the Late Quaternary turbidite systems of the Gulf of Oman and the East-African margin (western Indian Ocean), previously poorly studied. It is based upon a compilation of acoustic data (bathymetry, multibeam imagery, 3.5 kHz and multi-channel seismic) and sedimentological data (küllenberg and calypso piston cores) recovered during several cruises leaded by the SHOM and IFP institutes. Turbidite system architecture and sedimentary processes revealed a strong variability primarily related to the physiographic, hydro-climatic and geodynamic context of each margin. High-resolution stratigraphy has been achieved using a combination of radiocarbon dating, XRF geochemistry, biostratigraphy). This allowed to investigate the impact, the interaction and the relative importance of the external forcings on deep water sedimentation (i.e. tectonics, climate and eustasy) at high- frequency (103 -104 yrs) in different tectonic setting (active & passive margins). Finally, integration of the sedimentological data set in a geoacoustic numerical modelling leaded to a first quantitative estimation of the regional relationship between sea-floor properties (lithology, depositional environment, stratification) and propagation of acoustic signal at 300 Hz- 3kHz frequencies and 0-90°. This work constitutes a basis for future geoacoustic modelling in the area.

Neste estudo investigou-se a variabilidade da Monção Sul-Americana (MSA) ao longo dos últimos 38ka, por meio de um registro em alta resolução de \'\'delta\' POT.18\'O baseado em três espeleotemas da caverna Shatuca, localizada no norte do Peru (~ 5ºS). O registro da caverna Shatuca é um dos primeiros registros paleoclimáticos da zona de altitude intermediária no flanco oriental dos Andes setentrionais (1960m). O registro isotópico da Shatuca compreende espeleotemas bem datados e de alta resolução que são usados para investigar a atividade da MSA no passado, em resposta tanto ao ciclo de precessão da insolação, como às mudanças na circulação oceânica, ocorridas durante o último período Glacial - Deglacial, as quais são definidas nos testemunhos marinhos e de gelo do Hemisfério Norte. Os registros de espeleotemas da caverna Shatuca, não mostram nenhum controle claro da insolação sobre a MSA nos Andes entre 38-11 ka AP, o que pode ser explicado por um controle predominante das condições de contorno glaciais sobre a MSA. Mudanças abruptas, entre períodos mais úmidos e mais secos da MSA, em escalas de tempo milenar, são observadas no registro de espeleotemas de Shatuca através de valores de \'\'delta\' POT.18\'O anormalmente baixos e altos, respectivamente. Estes eventos são interpretados como uma resposta aos eventos Heinrich (H) e Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) através de deslocamentos latitudinais da Zona de Convergência Intertropical (Intertropical Convergence Zone-ITCZ). No entanto, a intensidade da resposta a esses ciclos foi variável. Em particular, os episódios climáticos mais extremos foram aqueles relacionados aos eventos Heinrich 1 e 2. O período de ocorrência e a estrutura do evento Heinrich 1 (H1) são mais precisamente descritos nos espeleotemas da caverna Shatuca do que em registros anteriores dos Andes e da Bacia de Cariaco. O evento H1 é caracterizado por valores isotópicos baixos entre 18.0 e 14.7 ka AP, o que indica condições predominantemente úmidas; mas um pico, nunca antes registrado, de valores de \'\'delta\' POT.18\'O altos foi registrado em 16.2 ka AP. Este resultado é particularmente importante dado que a ITCZ poderia ter estado deslocada mais ao sul do que 5ºS. Além disso, a estrutura dos períodos do Bølling-Allerød (B/A) e Younger Dryas (YD) assemelha-se à dos testemunhos de gelo da Groenlândia. Durante o Holoceno, o clima da região da caverna Shatuca foi controlado pela insolação, consistente com outros registros de isótopos de diferentes altitudes nos Andes peruanos. O Holoceno Inferior é marcado pelo severo enfraquecimento da MSA na região da Shatuca, sendo seguido por uma tendência de aumento gradual das condições de umidade em direção ao Holoceno Superior, esta tendência climática, em longo prazo, ocorreu em união à tendência de aumento da insolação modulada pelo ciclo de precessão. Condições particularmente úmidas foram sentidas na região da caverna Shatuca após 5.0 ka AP. Várias mudanças abruptas ocorridas, em escalas de tempo centenárias e multidecenais, durante o Holoceno, são descritas pela primeira vez nos Andes. Durante o Holoceno Inferior, o caso mais extremo, é o registrado em 9.5 ka AP, mas outros eventos úmidos ocorreram também, tais como o registrado em 8.1 ka AP. Por outro lado, durante o Holoceno Médio, a comparação com outros registros andinos, na região afetada pela MSA, aponta para uma série de eventos abruptos que ocorreram entre 5.1 e 5.0 ka AP. Finalmente, um resultado importante do presente estudo é a semelhança observada, durante o Holoceno Superior, entre o registro da caverna Shatuca com o do lago Pallcacocha, situado no sul dos Andes equatorianos e amplamente utilizado como um proxy da frequência do fenômeno El Niño Oscilação Sul (El Niño Southern Oscillation -ENSO). O registro Shatuca não apresenta nenhuma evidência clara de ter sofrido algum controle climático influenciado por ENSO. Pelo contrário, propõe-se que ambos registros, o lago Pallcacocha e a caverna Shatuca, indicam um aumento da umidade entre 3.5 e 2.5 ka AP, resultado do controle da alta insolação de verão austral sobre a MSA, e de uma profunda reorganização do sistema climático ocorrido na borda oeste da MSA, entre terras altas e intermediárias dos Andes. / this study, we investigated the South American Summer Monsoon (SASM) variability through the last 38 ky with a high-resolution \'\'delta\' POT.18\'O record based on three speleothems from Shatuca cave, located in northern Peru (~ 5ºS). The Shatuca cave record is one of the first paleoclimate records from mid-altitude (1960m) sites in the northeastern Andean slopes. The Shatuca isotope record comprises well-dated and high-resolution speleothems that were used to investigate the past activity of SASM, in response to both insolation precession cycle and changes in oceanic circulation during the last Glacial-Deglacial period, defined in ice cores and marine core records from the northern Hemisphere. The speleothem records from Shatuca cave show no clear insolation control over the SASM between 38-11 ky BP, which could be explained by a prevailing control of the glacial boundary conditions over SASM. Abrupt millennial shifts between wetter and drier monsoon phases are observed in Shatuca speleothem record based on abnormally low and high values of \'\'delta\' POT.18\'O, respectively. These events are interpreted as a response to Heinrich (H) and Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) events through latitudinal displacements in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). However, the response intensity to these events was variable. In particular, the most extreme climate episodes were those related to the Heinrich events 1 and 2. The structure and timing of the Heinrich event 1 (H1) event are more precisely described in Shatuca speleothems than in previous records from Andes and Cariaco Basin. The H1 event is characterized by low ?18O values from 18.0 to 14.7 ky BP, indicative of predominantly wet conditions; but a peak, never reported before, of high \'\'delta\' POT.18\'O values is recorded at 16.2 ky BP. This result is of particular importance given that the ITCZ was probably displaced even more to the south than 5ºS. In addition, the structure of the Bølling-Allerød (B/A) and Younger Dryas (YD) periods resembles that of the Greenland ice cores. Insolation control on climate at Shatuca site is evident during the Holocene, which is consistent with other Andean isotope records from different altitudes in the Peruvian Andes. The early Holocene is marked by a extremely weak SASM activity over Shatuca area, that is followed by a gradual increasing trend toward wetter conditions at the late Holocene period, this long term climate trend occurred in union with increasing insolation trend modulated by the precession cycle. Particularly wet conditions were felt in Shatuca site after 5.0 ky BP. During the Holocene, several abrupt multidecadal to centennial events are for the first time described in Andes. During the early Holocene, the most extreme event is the one logged at 9.5 ky BP, however other wet events occurred, such as the one logged at 8.1 ky BP. On the other side, during the mid Holocene, the comparison with other Andean records affected by the SASM, points out to a striking series of events that occurred between 5.1 and 5.0 ky BP. Finally, one important result from the present study is the similarity observed during the late Holocene between Shatuca cave and the Pallcacocha lake record in southern Equadorian Andes, a record that has been widely used as a proxy for El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) frequency during Holocene. Shatuca record presents no clear evidence for climate control by ENSO. On the contrary, it is proposed that the increase in moisture logged between 3.5 and 2.5 ky BP, in both Pallcacocha lake and Shatuca cave records, resulted from high austral insolation control over the SASM and a major reorganization of the climatic system in the western border of the SASM at mid- to high altitudes of the Andes.

O Sistema de Monção Sul-americana (SMSA) e a Zona de Convergência Intertropical (ZCIT) são dois dos mais importantes sistemas de circulação que afetam o clima da América do Sul (AS). Enquanto houve um grande progresso no número de registros paleoclimáticos relacionados com a precipitação do SMSA nos Andes tropicais e nas porções sudeste, centroleste e nordeste do Brasil, ainda pouco se sabe sobre mudanças de paleo-pluviosidade na região do Centro-Oeste do Brasil. Na presente tese, foram estudados novos registros de paleo-precipitação baseados em mais de 5000 análises isotópicas de oxigênio e carbono em estalagmites coletadas em cavernas da região Centro-Oeste que cobrem os últimos ~33 mil anos, cuja cronologia se baseia em aproximadamente 200 análises U/Th. Esse estudo mostrou que a região do Mato Grosso do Sul foi mais úmida durante o Último Máximo Glacial (LGM - do inglês Last Glacial Maximum) em relação ao Holoceno médio. A correspondência desse cenário paleoclimático com o que foi documentado em outras áreas da AS indica a presença de um corredor de umidade durante o período do LGM que se estende desde o oeste amazônico até o sudeste do Brasil. Os eventos milenares caracterizados por oscilações na temperatura das regiões das altas latitudes do globo claramente afetaram a precipitação na região. O registro isotópico mostra que a região esteve mais úmida durante os eventos frios do Hemisfério Norte (Younger Dryas e Heinrich events) e mais seca durante os eventos quentes (Bolling-Allerod e Dansgaard-Oeschger). Essa relação teve como provável causa o fortalecimento/enfraquecimento do SMSA em função do posicionamento da ZCIT em resposta ao gradiente térmico inter-hemisférico. Durante o evento Heinrich 1 a região teve a presença de uma proeminente fase seca entre duas úmidas, esse fato foi reportado em outras regiões do Brasil e não parece estar conectado com as condições de temperatura das altas latitudes. A partir dos dados de alta resolução temporal das estalagmites coletadas no estado do Mato Grosso, foi realizado o estudo da variabilidade climática associada com atividade do SMSA ao longo nos últimos milênios que inclui os períodos de anomalias climáticas da Pequena Idade do Gelo e da Anomalia Climática Medieval, caracterizados na região como úmido e seco, respectivamente. Com o uso de técnicas de análises espectrais foi identificada uma persistente periodicidade de aproximadamente 210 anos na variabilidade do SMSA, a qual foi associada a influência da variabilidade solar no clima Em complemento, foi realizado um monitoramento isotópico e ambiental durante 4 anos nos sistemas cársticos onde as estalagmites foram coletadas. A comparação entre o \'delta\'\'POT.18\'O da água da chuva com a quantidade de precipitação e temperatura do ar evidencia o efeito quantidade (amount effect) como o principal modulador da variação isotópica na atmosfera. A relação isotópica entre o carbonato e a água meteórica, associados as condições do microclima da caverna, indica que o sinal isotópico da água da chuva foi preservado de forma suavizada nos espeleotemas, o que suporta o uso dos isótopos de oxigênio como indicador paleoambiental nas estalagmites dessas cavernas. / The South American Monsoon System (SAMS) and the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) are the two most important circulation systems affecting climate over tropical South America (SA). While an increasing number of paleoclimatic archives related to SAMS precipitation have recently been published, most of these paleoclimate reconstructions are located along the eastern slope of the tropical Andes or in southeastern SA. In central SA, most proxy records consist of pollen-based vegetation reconstructions, but these show significant disagreements when compared to precipitation records further to the east and west. Here we present a new paleo-rainfall record based in more than 5.000 oxygen and carbon isotope samples from speleothems collected on two study sites from mid-west Brazil (states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul), chronologically constrained by almost 200 U/Th ages that cover the last ~33.000 years BP. This study shows wet conditions in the regions of Mato Grosso do Sul during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in relationship to mid-Holocene. The comparison of our new record with others paleoclimate records from SA indicates a wet corridor during the LGM over west Amazon and southeast Brazil. The millennial events documented in the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere were evident in paleoprecipitation of Mato Grosso do Sul, the isotopic record shows wet conditions for the region during could period of the northern hemisphere (Yonger Dryas and Heinrich events) and dry conditions during warm periods (Bolling-Allerod and Dansgaard-Oeschger). This was due to strengthening/weakening of SAMS, which is ITCZ position dependent. During the event Heinrich 1, our record shown a dry phase between two wet intervals. This was also documented in central-east of Brazil and seems decoupled of high latitude climate conditions. For stalagmites collected in Mato Grosso state, we focus on the climate variability over the last two millennia using high resolution sampling (approximately 1 years sample spacing). This new record shows abrupt fluctuations in rainfall tied to variations in the intensity of SAMS, including the periods corresponding to the Little Ice Age (LIA) and the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA). Using spectral analyses, we show that changes in SASM activity is linked to solar variability with a distinct periodicity of 210 years. We also show our isotope and environmental monitoring over 4 years at the cave site, in order to support our paleoclimatic interpretation of the isotopic profiles obtained from the stalagmites. The systematic measurement of the oxygen isotopic composition of rainfall, drip water and associated fresh calcite at the caves indicates that the stalagmites from this region can be used as a proxy of the SAMS activity. The effect of seasonal temperature variability in the atmosphere is suppressed by the \"amount effect\" on the \'delta\'\'POT.18\'O values of rainfall. Inside the cave, the microclimate variability has a small effect on calcite \'delta\'\'POT.18\'O, not being significant over long time scales.

Utilizando registros isotópicos (\'delta\' \'POT.18\'O e \'delta\'\'POT.13\'C) de alta resolução, razões de elementos-traço em relação ao cálcio e taxas de crescimento de espeleotemas, precisamente datados pelo método U-Th, foi feita uma reconstrução da intensidade do Sistema de Monções Sul-Americano (SMSA) nos últimos 1500 anos na região do município de Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sul. O estudo do sinal climático, interpretado por meio de variações geoquímicas dos espeleotemas, foi realizado com base em estudos e comparações com dados instr umentais de uma estação meteorológica de Bonito, com dados de monitoramentos do IAEA - GNIP de Campo Grande e Cuiabá e com informações de modelos computacionais que simulam a variação de \'delta\'\'POT.18\'O em relação à intensidade das monções na América do Sul, o qual e stá relacionado com variação regional de pluviosidade. Apesar destes dados mostrarem que o amount effect é um dos fatores determinantes na variação das razões isotópicas dos espeleotemas, outros fatores como o degree of rainout upstream e a fonte de umidade (Amazônia x oceano Atlântico sul) também devem ser considerados importantes. Assim, a interpretação das razões de \'delta\'\'POT.18\'O é atribuída à intensidade do sistema de monções e, desta forma, à atuação da Zona de Convergência do Atlântico Sul (ZACS), principalmente associada à propagação de chuvas da região Amazônica para o centro-oeste e sudeste brasileiro. O registro paleoclimático de Bonito mostrou excelente coerência com variados tipos de registros de outros locais da América do Sul, e também com dados do Hemisfério Norte, evidenciando a influência de eventos de escala secular como MCA e LIA na intensidade das monções na América do Sul. A boa correlação entre algumas razões de elementos-traço com a precipitação mostra que o \"amount effect\" não controla totalmente os registros isotópicos. Análises de estatísticas de séries temporais aplicadas aos registros isotópicos e aos registros de elementos-traço permitiram a observação de vários eventos de freqüêcia decadal a multidecadal influenciando as monções da América do Sul. Os principais destes eventos são a NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) e a AMO (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation), os quais, pelas flutuações de TSM no Atlântico Norte, desencadeiam teleconexões que têm resultados no posicionamento da Zona de Convergência Intertropical (Intertropical Convergence Zone - ITCZ) e da ZACS. / High-resolution isotope records (\'delta\'\'POT.18\'O e \'delta\'\'POT.13\'C), growth rates, elemental ratios in precisely dated speleothems by U/Th method are used to reconstruct the intensity of the South American Monsoon System (SAMS) during the 1500 years in Bonito Region, Mato Grosso do Sul. The interpretations of geochemical variations in speleothems are based on comparative studies with instrumental climatic data and at isotope measurements in rain water at IAEA - GNIP stations in Campo Grande and Cuiabá, as well as from climate model studies using oxygen isotope ratios as tracers of monsoon rainfall intensity. Despite of these data suggest that the \"amount effect\" is a dominant factor controlling the isotope variations in preci pitation, the \"degree of rainout upstream\" is considered also important because the distal influence of SAMS and South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) along the moisture transport tra jectory from Amazon to SE Brazilian Coast. The other significant factor to isotope composition to precipitation, therefore to speleothems, is the difference in moisture source area from Amazon Region (summer monsoonal precipitation) and Atlantic Ocean (extratropical regime). Bonito\'s paleoclimate Record indicate very good coherence with other records in South America and Northern Hemisphere, particularly in the response to the global scale climate events such as Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) e Little Ice Age (LIA) on summer precipitation. In these events were evidenced dryer and wetter conditions, respectively, not just from the stable isotope ratios but also from Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios. Time series statistical analysis in the isotope and trace -element records showed that the SAMS is largely influenced by decadal to multidecadal events. In this regard, the most influent climate modes are the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) and the AMO (Atlantic multi Decadal Oscillation), with significant influence on the precipitation variability. In both cases these changes in precipitation are resulted from teleconection with Atlantic Ocean, which impacts the location of ITCZ and consequently the SACZ activity in Central-West Brazil.

This thesis presents investigations on sediments from two African lakes which have been recording changes in their surrounding environmental and climate conditions since more than 200,000 years. Focus of this work is the time of the last Glacial and the Holocene (the last ~100,000 years before present [in the following 100 kyr BP]). One important precondition for this kind of research is a good understanding of the present ecosystems in and around the lakes and of the sediment formation under modern climate conditions. Both studies therefore include investigations on the modern environment (including organisms, soils, rocks, lake water and sediments). A 90 m long sediment sequence was investigated from Lake Tswaing (north-eastern South Africa) using geochemical analyses. These investigations document alternating periods of high detrital input and low (especially autochthonous) organic matter content and periods of low detrital input, carbonatic or evaporitic sedimentation and high autochthonous organic matter content. These alternations are interpreted as changes between relatively humid and arid conditions, respectively. Before c. 75 kyr BP, they seem to follow changes in local insolation whereas afterwards they appear to be acyclic and are probably caused by changes in ocean circulation and/or in the mean position of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Today, these factors have main influence on precipitation in this area where rainfall occurs almost exclusively during austral summer. All modern organisms were analysed for their biomarker and bulk organic and compound-specific stable carbon isotope composition. The same investigations on sediments from the modern lake floor document the mixed input of the investigated individual organisms and reveal additional influences by methanotrophic bacteria. A comparison of modern sediment characteristics with those of sediments covering the time 14 to 2 kyr BP shows changes in the productivity of the lake and the surrounding vegetation which are best explained by changes in hydrology. More humid conditions are indicated for times older than 10 kyr BP and younger than 7.5 kyr BP, whereas arid conditions prevailed in between. These observations agree with the results from sediment composition and indications from other climate archives nearby. The second lake study deals with Lake Challa, a small, deep crater lake on the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. In this lake form mm-scale laminated sediments which were analyses with micro-XRF scanning for changes in the element composition. By comparing these results with investigations on thin sections, results from ongoing sediment trap studies, meteorological data, and investigations on the surrounding rocks and soils, I develop a model for seasonal variability in the limnology and sedimentation of Lake Challa. The lake appears to be stratified during the warm rain seasons (October – December and March – May) during which detrital material is delivered to the lake and carbonates precipitate. On the lake floor forms a dark lamina with high contents of Fe and Ti and high Ca/Al and low Mn/Fe ratios. Diatoms bloom during the cool and windy season (June – September) when mixing down to c. 60 m depth provides easily bio-available nutrients. Contemporaneously, Fe and Mn-oxides are precipitating which cause high Mn/Fe ratios in the light diatom-rich laminae of the sediments. Trends in the Mn/Fe ratio of the sediments are interpreted to reflect changes in the intensity or duration of seasonal mixing in Lake Challa. This interpretation is supported by parallel changes in the organic matter and biogenic silica content observed in the 22 m long profile recovered from Lake Challa. This covers the time of the last 25 kyr BP. It documents a transition around 16 kyr BP from relatively well-mixed conditions with high detrital input during glacial times to stronger stratified conditions which are probably related to increasing lake levels in Challa and generally more humid conditions in East Africa. Intensified mixing is recorded for the time of the Younger Dryas and the period between 11.4 and 10.7 kyr BP. For these periods, reduced intensity of the SW monsoon and intensified NE monsoon are reported from archives of the Indian-Asian Monsoon region, arguing for the latter as a probable source for wind mixing in Lake Challa. This connection is probably also responsible for contemporaneous events in the Mn/Fe ratios of the Lake Challa sediments and in other records of northern hemisphere monsoon intensity during the Holocene and underlines the close interaction of global low latitude atmospheric circulation. / In dieser Arbeit werden Ergebnisse von Untersuchungen an den Sedimenten zweier afrikanischer Seen vorgestellt, die ein Archiv für Klimaveränderungen über einen Zeitraum von mehr als 200.000 Jahren darstellen. Der Schwerpunkt liegt in dieser Arbeit auf dem letzten Glazial und dem Holozän (ca. 100.000 Jahre vor heute [nachfolgend als 100 kyr BP bezeichnet] bis heute). Grundlegende Voraussetzung für solche Studien ist ein gutes Verständnis der Ökosysteme in und um den See, sowie des gegenwärtigen Sedimentationsgeschehens. Deswegen beinhalten beide Seestudien Untersuchungen der heutigen Organismen, Böden, Gesteine, Wasserchemie und Sedimentablagerungen. Im Tswaing-See im nordöstlichen Südafrika wurden anhand eines 90 m langen Sedimentprofils Studien zur Sedimentzusammensetzung und Untersuchungen der Zusammensetzung und Qualität des organischen Materials durchgeführt. Sie zeigen einen Wechsel zwischen Phasen hohen detritischen Eintrags, während derer v.a. kaum autochthones organisches Material im See erhalten blieb, mit Phasen geringen Eintrags und dafür karbonatischer oder evaporitischer Sedimentation, die hohe Gehalte v.a. autochthonen organischen Materials aufweisen. Diese Phasen werden als relativ feuchte bzw. trockene Perioden interpretiert und folgen bis vor ca. 75 kyr BP Schwankungen der lokalen solaren Einstrahlung. Dieser Einfluss nimmt nach 75 kyr BP ab und azyklische feuchte Phasen werden beobachtet. Mögliche Ursachen sind Veränderungen in der ozeanischen Zirkulation und Verschiebungen in der Lage der Innertropischen Konvergenzzone (ITCZ); beides sind auch heute Haupteinflussfaktoren auf die Niederschläge in der Region. Die heute lebenden Organismen des Tswaing-Kraters wurden mittels Analysen der Biomarkerzusammensetzung und der Kohlenstoffisotopie charakterisiert und ihr Einfluss auf die heutigen Seeablagerungen untersucht. Dabei konnten zusätzlich Indikatoren für die Aktivität methanotropher Bakterien nachgewiesen werden. Der Vergleich heutiger Sedimente mit denen des Zeitraumes 14 bis 2 kyr BP zeigt deutliche Veränderungen sowohl in der Zusammensetzung, als auch in der Kohlenstoffisotopie der Biomarker, die mit Veränderungen in der Hydrologie erklärt werden können. Die gefundenen Hinweise auf feuchtere Bedingungen im Zeitraum älter als 10 kyr BP, für trockenere Verhältnissen zwischen 10 und 7.5 kyr BP und für die nachfolgende Wiederzunahme an Feuchtigkeit werden durch die sedimentologischen Ergebnisse unterstützt. Objekt der zweiten Seestudie ist der Challa-See am Fuß des Kilimanjaro. Hier werden heute im mm-Maßstab laminierte Sedimente gebildet, die mit Mikro-XRF-scanning auf Veränderungen in der Elementzusammensetzung untersucht wurden. Zusammen mit Untersuchungen der Mikrofazies und im Vergleich mit ersten Ergebnissen noch laufender Sedimentfallenstudien, mit meteorologischen Daten und Analysen des Umgebungsgesteins werden die saisonalen Veränderungen in der Temperaturverteilung, der Durchmischungstiefe, dem detritischen Eintrag und der Bioproduktivität des Sees in den Sedimenten nachvollziehbar. Der See ist in den feucht-warmen Perioden von Oktober bis Dezember und von März bis Mai stratifiziert. Während dieser Zeit erfolgt der Eintrag detritischen Materials und Kalziumkarbonat fällt aus; eine dunkle Lage mit hohen Gehalten an Fe und Ti und mit hohen Ca/Al- und niedrigen Mn/Fe-Verhältnissen bildet sich am Boden des Sees. Diatomeen blühen während der kühlen, windigen Periode von Juni bis September, wenn die Durchmischung bis auf etwa 60 m Tiefe Nährstoffe verfügbar macht. Die Ausfällung von Fe- und Mn-oxiden sorgt für hohe Mn/Fe-Verhältnisse; es bildet sich eine helle Lage auf dem Sediment. Trends im Mn/Fe-Verhältnis werden als Signal für Veränderungen in der Intensität oder Dauer der saisonalen Durchmischung interpretiert. Dies wird unterstützt durch parallele Trends im Gehalt an organischem Material und an biogenem Silizium, wie durch Analysen an einem 22 m langen Bohrkern gezeigt werden kann. Nach gut durchmischten und von erhöhtem Eintrag von außen geprägten Verhältnissen während des letzten Glazials erfolgt gegen 16 kyr BP ein Übergang zu stärker stratifizierten Bedingungen. Diese korrespondieren mit einem steigenden Seespiegel und verbreiteten Hinweisen auf feuchte Bedingungen im tropischen Ostafrika. Stärkere Durchmischung herrschte während der Jüngeren Dryas und von 11.4 bis 10.7 kyr BP. Diese Perioden entsprechen Zeiten verringerter Südwest- und vermutlich verstärkter Nordostmonsunintensität im Bereich des Indisch-Asiatischen Monsuns und spiegeln eine global beobachtete südliche Verschiebung der ITCZ wider. Nach einer kurzen stabilen, feuchten Phase im frühen Holozän nimmt die Durchmischung des Sees im Verlauf des Holozän wieder zu. Abrupte Ereignisse während des Holozän scheinen im Challa-See zeitgleich mit Veränderungen der Monsunintensität der Nordhemisphäre aufzutreten und bezeugen die starke klimatische Kopplung der niederen Breiten in globalem Maßstab.

The ENSO-monsoon system is known to have a biennial component. Here we show using high resolution satellite data, mainly daily rainfall and sea surface temperature (SST) from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), and daily scatterometer surface winds from QuickSCAT, that there is a clear biennial oscillation (TBO) in summer monsoon rainfall over Central India – Bay of Bengal (Cl-BoB) and the far west Pacific in the period 1999-2005. Summer (JJAS) mean rainfall oscillates between high and low values in alternate years; the rainfall is high in the odd years 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2005, and low in even years 2000, 2002 and 2004. The amplitude of the oscillation is significant, as measured against the long term standard deviation of seasonal rain based on 1979-2005 Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) data. We find that the TBO in rainfall is associated with TBO of SST over the tropical Indian, west Pacific and Atlantic Oceans in different seasons. There is no TBO in east Pacific SST, and no strong El Nino in this period. The TBO of SST is related to change in evaporation due to TBO of surface wind speed. A TBO of the surface branch of the Walker circulation in the eastern Indian and western Pacific basins is clearest in the autumn season during 1999-2005. There is a clear relation between a large-amplitude TBO of winter surface air temperature over north Asia associated with TBO of the Arctic oscillation (AO), and the TBO of summer monsoon rainfall. High rainfall over CI-BoB lin summer is followed by a relatively high value of the AO Index, and warm air termperature over north Asia in the succeeding winter. The Inter Tropical Convergence Zone(ITCZ) over the central Pacific and Atlantic Oceans shift north by about two degrees when the northern hemisphere is warm, reminiscent of the behaviour of the climate system of ENSO, decadal and palaeoclimate time scales. In this thesis we document the biennial oscillation of monsoon rain and its spatial structure in the recent period, and its relation with biennial oscillation of surface climate over the global tropics and extratropical regions. The existence of TBO in the tropical Atlantic, and its relation with the monsoon, is a new finding. We demonstrate that the interannual variability of the summer monsoon during 1999-2005, including the drought of 2002, is part of a pervasive TBO of global surface climate.

The thesis is concerned with development of efficient regional frequency analysis (RFA) approaches to estimate quantiles of hydrometeorological events. The estimates are necessary for various applications in water resources engineering. The classical approach to estimate quantiles involves fitting frequency distribution to at-site data. However, this approach cannot be used when data at target site are inadequate or unavailable to compute parameters of the frequency distribution. This impediment can be overcome through RFA, in which sites having similar attributes are identified to form a region, and information is pooled from all the sites in the region to estimate the quantiles at target site. The thesis proposes new approaches to RFA of precipitation, meteorological droughts and floods, and demonstrates their effectiveness. The approach proposed for RFA of precipitation overcomes shortcomings of conventional approaches with regard to delineation and validation of homogeneous precipitation regions, and estimation of precipitation quantiles in ungauged and data sparse areas. For the first time in literature, distinction is made between attributes/variables useful to form homogeneous rainfall regions and to validate the regions. Another important issue is that some of the attributes considered for regionalization vary dynamically with time. In conventional approaches, there is no provision to consider dynamic aspects of time varying attributes. This may lead to delineation of ineffective regions. To address this issue, a dynamic fuzzy clustering model (DFCM) is developed. The results obtained from application to Indian summer monsoon and annual rainfall indicated that RFA based on DFCM is more effective than that based on hard and fuzzy clustering models in arriving at rainfall quantile estimates. Errors in quantile estimates for the hard, fuzzy and dynamic fuzzy models based on the proposed approach are shown to be significantly less than those computed for Indian summer monsoon rainfall regions delineated in three previous studies. Overall, RFA based on DFCM and large scale atmospheric variables appeared promising. The performance of DFCM is followed by that of fuzzy and hard clustering models. Next, a new approach is proposed for RFA of meteorological droughts. It is suggested that homogeneous precipitation regions have to be delineated before proceeding to develop drought severity - areal extent - frequency (SAF) curves. Drought SAF curves are constructed at annual and summer monsoon time scales for each of the homogeneous rainfall regions that are newly delineated in India based on the proposed approach. They find use in assessing spatial characteristics and frequency of meteorological droughts. It overcomes shortcomings associated with classical approaches that construct SAF curves for political (e.g., state, country) and physiographic regions (e.g., river basin), based on spatial patterns of at-site values of drought indices in the study area, without testing homogeneity in rainfall. Advantage of the new approach can be noted especially in areas that have significant variations in temporal and spatial distribution of precipitation (possibly due to variations in topography, landscape and climate). The DFCM is extended to RFA of floods, and its effectiveness in prediction of flood quantiles is demonstrated by application to Godavari basin in India, considering precipitation as time varying attribute. Six new homogeneous regions are formed in Godavari basin and errors in quantile estimates based on those regions are shown to be significantly less than those computed based on sub-zones delineated in Godavari basin by Central Water Commission in a previous study.

Majority of the rain producing monsoon systems in India form or intensify over the Bay of Bengal and move onto the land. We expect the air-sea interaction to be a crucial factor in the frequent genesis and intensification of monsoon systems over the Bay. Knowledge of air-sea fluxes is essential in determining the air-sea interactions. However, the Bay remains a poorly monitored ocean basin and the state of the near surface conditions during the monsoon months remains to be studied in detail. For example, we do not know yet which among the various flux formulae used in the General circulation models are appropriate over the Bay since there are no direct measurements of surface fluxes here during the peak monsoon months. The present thesis aims towards filing that gap. In this thesis fluxes were computed using the Bulk method, Inertial dissipation method and direct covariance method. The flux comparisons were reasonable during certain flow conditions which are clearly identified. When these conditions are not met the differences among the fluxes from these methods can be larger than the inherent uncertainties' in the methods. Stratification, flow distortion and averaging time are the key variables that give rise to the differences in the fluxes. It is found that there are significant differences in the surface flux estimates computed from different atmospheric General Circulation Model bulk parameterization schemes. In this thesis, the flow gradients are estimated by taking advantage of the natural pitch and roll motion of the ship. A attempt is made to gain insight into the flow distortion and its influence on the fluxes. In our analysis it is found that the displacement of the streamlines is an important component in quantifying flow distortion.