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High‐mountain lakes possess tremendous ecological significance and contribute to the well‐being of local mountain population and those living in adjacent lowland areas. Over the years, the structure and function of these ecosystems have experienced significant variations particularly due to the synergistic effects of climate stressors and human perturbations as well as reformed water consumption patterns. However, research on hydrology of mountain lakes remains focused on particular regions and related scientific perspectives on lake ecological shifts are still insufficient. Furthermore, the lack of strong nexus between scientists, stakeholders, and local community also promotes data gaps in mountain paleolimnology. Hence, it should be recognized that investigating the nexus between different stakeholders and global climate shifts as well as investigating the anthropogenic forcing factors in high‐mountain lakes is fundamental for future hydrological studies. New proxy‐based assessments and continuous, high‐frequency limnological measurements will help improve spatiotemporal resolution and address existing data gaps in high‐mountain limnology and paleolimnology.

ABSTRACTThe loess-paleosol proxy records from mid-latitude Asia have been instrumental in the reconstruction of regional paleoclimate evolution and its relationship with global climatic changes. The present study explores the discrete occurrence of a loess and paleosol sequence (LPS) in the Southern Zanskar Range (SZR), NW Himalaya. Stratigraphic variations in sediment texture, supplemented with geochemical, organic and magnetic proxies, indicate two broad phases of loess accretion (L-1) and paleosol formation (PS-1). The older phase of loess accretion (L-1) is dated between 2.5 ± 0.3 ka and >2.0 ka, whereas the L-2, which fully transformed into the modern soil (MS) probably deposited during the Little Ice Age (LIA) phase. The textural attributes (high sand content) of loess indicate source proximal deposition, whereas the geochemical and magnetic proxies point towards the pre-depositional weathering (in the source area). The PS-1 dated to 2189 ± 296 cal yr BP indicates improved moisture conditions, whereas the MS is assigned to post LIA warm phase. These findings provide an important step towards better understanding the sensitivity of loess accretion and paleosol formation in the SZR linked to late Holocene climate variability.

Lacustrine sediments, due to their widespread abundance across continents, are valuable archives of the past climate changes. The Kashmir Valley in the northwestern Himalaya, India situated at the interface of Western Disturbances and Indian Summer Monsoon moisture sources preserves undisturbed lacustrine deposits that serve as a valuable archive of past climate conditions. The spatio-temporal variability of these two monsoon moisture sources have been responsible for the Holocene climate perturbations and paleolimnological processes in the Kashmir Himalaya. The global and regional climate shifts aided by the anthropogenic forcing raises the need for a better understanding of the Holocene climate shifts and paleolimnological processes. We studied the available literature on lacustrine proxy records in order to understand the Holocene paleolimnological changes and to decipher paleoclimate, productivity and anthropogenic influences in the Kashmir valley. The analysis of the lake proxy records revealed significant changes in the regional paleoclimate conditions, lacustrine productivity and swings between drier and wetter phases. Furthermore, the region experienced a significant increase in the monsoonal precipitation during the early Holocene, followed by a progressive decline in the monsoonal rains and subsequent decreased lake water-levels and accelerated eutrophication during the late Holocene and recent times. In order to better comprehend the Holocene climate variability and its regional coherence, we compared these lake records with the regional Himalayan lakes and have elaborated about how paleolimnological processes respond to the shifting tropical-subtropical monsoon dynamics. The response of paleolimnological processes to a number of brief wet (Holocene Climate Optimum, Roman Warm Period and dry (Dark Age Cold Period and Little Ice Age) events has not been thoroughly investigated from this region, despite these events having been extensively observed from other lake systems in the Indian Himalaya. We suggest that several other lacustrine sites should be explored to generate high fidelity paleolimnology records with a stronger chronological framework to investigate the response of lacustrine processes to these short-term wet and drier phases.