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We present a comprehensive record of Holocene (11,590–628 cal. yr BP) climate and hydrographic changes around the Wular Lake located in Kashmir Valley, India. Based on the multi-proxy investigations, we have identified three phases of wet climate conditions that prevailed from the commencement of the Holocene Epoch – 9000 cal. yr BP, 8100–6650 cal. yr BP and 6350–5000 cal. yr BP, whereas periods of dry climate were observed during 9000–8100 cal. yr BP, 6650–6350 cal. yr BP and ~5000 to 4000 cal. yr BP. The results also suggested that the lake widened and deepened significantly around 6350–5000 cal. yr BP. The results indicated desiccation and the exposure of the lake margin around 5000–4500 cal. yr BP. The sedimentation rate since 4500–628 cal. yr BP was quite low for detailed paleoclimate interpretations. Oscillations in lake extension and deepening appear to be due to changing intensity of westerly moisture in the region, and we correlate several of the low lake-level phases to the Bond events caused by North Atlantic ice rafting events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Precipitation δ18Os at the NW Himalaya show different values during monsoon and non-monsoon season. • δ18Os during the WD events show strong correlation with the regional meteorological parameters. • This property establishes relation between precipitation δ18O and the meteorological parameters. The Kashmir Valley represents a critical region for understanding isotopic changes in the atmospheric moisture sources since it is located at the intercept between the influences of mid-latitude westerlies and the southwest monsoon circulation. This study presents the variation in isotopic composition (δ18O and δ2H) of daily precipitation samples collected from the Kashmir Valley, North-Western Himalaya, to quantify the effect of meteorological parameters, separately for the Southwest monsoon (SWM) season and the periods of Western Disturbances (WDs). The results suggest that precipitation isotopic composition is strongly modulated by temperature and relative humidity during the periods of WDs. Still, this dependency is weak in the case of the SWM season. Moisture transport pathways calculated from HYSPLIT back trajectory analysis shows a wide spatial variability during the monsoon season. On the other hand, the origin of moisture during the WD season was mostly restricted from the Mediterranean region, providing an explanation of a strong dependency between the precipitation isotopes and the meteorological parameters during the WD period. Such kind of relation may provide additional diagnostic for the WD events and may help in paleo-monsoon investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]