Unveiling Quaternary Environmental Dynamics: Multiproxy Insights from the Southwest Coast of Kerala, India

ABSTRACT Multiproxy investigations of Quaternary sediments provide excellent insights into past environmental dynamics and offer valuable perspectives for managing future issues. The current study intended to understand the past climatic conditions of Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam coastal stretch, South Kerala, India by the granulometric, geochemical and geochronological analysis of Quaternary sediments. Two cores of varying depths from two locations, viz., Chittumala and Kadinamkulam were collected from the coastal stretches of Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts using the rotary drilling method. The geochronological data suggests early Holocene age for the Chitumala core and Late Holocene age for the Kadinamkulam core. The downcore lithofacies variation in both Chittumala and Kadinamkulam cores reflects predominantly stable depositional regimes punctuated by episodic high-energy events indicative of short-term environmental fluctuations. The geochemical data indicates extended periods of cool and wet climate that are punctuated by shorter periods of sunny and hot climatic conditions.