Age determinations on ODP Hole 117-723A in the Arabian Sea

The high-resolution data further demonstrate that the SW monsoon has started weakening from 5 ka (4.8 cal kyr B.P.) and the weakest phase was in place at 3.5 ka (3 cal kyr B.P.), which coincides with evidence of an arid climate in western Tibet. Fluxes and shell concentrations of many of the planktonic foraminiferal species increased between 12 and 5 ka in response to the intensification of the SW monsoon winds after the last glacial period.

Globigerina bulloides shows a fivefold to tenfold increase in flux during this period of intense upwelling. The other species whose fluxes are influenced by this upwelling change are (in order from strongest to weakest response) Globigerinita glutinata, Globigerinoides ruber, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, Globigerinella aequilateralis, Globigerina falconensis, and Globigerinoides sacculifer. The relative abundances of G. bulloides and G. ruber increased during intense upwelling, whereas the relative abundances of G. glutinata, N. dutertrei, G. falconensis, and G. sacculifer did not increase during this period, which might be due to differences in the productivity of various species in relation to upwelling change.

Therefore the fluxes and shell concentrations provide better and more reliable information about the changes in the monsoon system in the Arabian Sea than relative abundance data.