Vegetation changes in the Indus River basin within the past 10.8 million years were investigated based on the analysis of n-fatty acids and their carbon isotopes in sediments from IODP Site U1457 in the Laxmi Basin of the Arabian Sea. The δ13C of long-chain n-C32 fatty acid shifted from −34 to −22 ‰ from 10 to 6.3 Ma, while the δ13C of mid-chain n-C24 fatty acid was nearly constant at around −23 to −22 ‰ over the same period. This large difference in the δ13C values suggests that the mid-chain fatty acids reflect the contribution of aquatic vascular C3 plants. Before 6.3 Ma, the average chain length of n-fatty acids and the δ13C values of long-chain fatty acids were negatively correlated, suggesting that the δ13C values reflected the relative abundance of terrestrial C3 versus aquatic C3 plants in the Indus River basin and western India. After 5.8 Ma, the average chain length was variable, but the δ13C values remained nearly the same, suggesting that the δ13C values reflected heavier δ13C values of both aquatic C3 and C4 plants. A three-end-member model calculation suggests that terrestrial C3 plants were replaced by C4 plants in the Indus River basin and western India from 9.7 or 8.2 to 6.3 Ma. Aridification in those areas during the late Miocene period may have driven the replacement of terrestrial C3 plants by C4 plants. An episodic increase in the abundance of terrestrial plants around 8 Ma is attributed to elevated precipitation by regionally enhanced moisture transport.

We present a new set of clay mineral and grain-size data for the siliciclastic sediment fraction from International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Site U1456 located in the eastern Arabian Sea to reconstruct the variabilities in the continental erosion and weathering intensity in the western Himalaya, elucidate the sediment source-to-sink processes and discuss the potential controls underlying these changes since 3.7 Ma. The clay minerals mainly consist of smectite (0–90%, average 44%) and illite (3–90%, average 44%), with chlorite (1–26%, average 7%) and kaolinite (0–19%, average 5%) as minor components. The compositional variations in the clay minerals at IODP Site U1456 suggest four phases of sediment provenance: the Indus River (phase 1, 3.7–3.2 Ma), the Indus River and Deccan Traps (phase 2, 3.2–2.6 Ma), the Indus River (phase 3, 2.6–1.2 Ma) and the Indus River and Deccan Traps (phase 4, 1.2–0 Ma). These provenance changes since 3.7 Ma can be correlated with variations in the Indian summer monsoon intensity. The siliciclastic sediments in the eastern Arabian Sea were mainly derived from the Indus River when the Indian summer monsoon was generally weak. In contrast, when the Indian summer monsoon intensified, the siliciclastic sediment supply from the Deccan Traps increased. In particular, this study shows that the smectite/(illite+chlorite) ratio is a sensitive tool for reconstructing the history of the variation in the Indian summer monsoon intensity over the continents surrounding the Arabian Sea since 3.7 Ma.

The geomorphic evolution of the upper Indus River that traverses across the southwest (SW) edge of Tibet, and the Ladakh and Zanskar ranges, was examined along a ~350-km-long stretch of its reaches. Based on the longitudinal river profile, stream length gradient index, and river/strath terraces, this stretch of the river is divided into four segments. Valley fill river terraces are ubiquitous, and strath terraces occur in the lower reaches where the Indus River cuts through deformed Indus Molasse. Optically stimulated luminescence ages of river/strath terraces suggest that valley aggradation occurred in three pulses, at ~52, ~28, and ~16 ka, and that these broadly coincide with periods of stronger SW Indian summer monsoon. Reconstructed longitudinal river profiles using strath terraces provide an upper limit on the bedrock and provide incision rates ranging from 1.0±0.3 to 2.2±0.9 mm/a. These results suggested that rapid uplift of the western syntaxes aided by uplift along the local faults led to the formation of strath terraces and increased fluvial incision rates along this stretch of the river.