Gallitellia - a proxy for palaeo-monsoonal upwelling on the western coast of India?

A planktonic foraminifer, Gallitellia vivans, has been recorded in the Quaternary sediments exposed in the Gulf of Cambay. Its occurrence in the sediments dated similar to 50 ka and similar to 125 ka respectively, is identical to peak occurrence of monsoon upwelling indicator, Globigerina bulloides in the Arabian Sea and the continental record of monsoon enhancement in Mahi and Narmada estuaries. The species is known as a tracer of high run-off, environmentally unstable and upwelling conditions. The study suggests the possibility of using G. vivans as monsoon tracer, similar to the well-established biological proxy G. bulloides.