Linking climate change to lemming cycles

The population cycles of rodents at northern latitudes have puzzled people for centuries, and their impact is manifest throughout the alpine ecosystem. Climate change is known to be able to drive animal population dynamics between stable and cyclic phases, and has been suggested to cause the recent changes in cyclic dynamics of rodents and their predators. But although predator-rodent interactions are commonly argued to be the cause of the Fennoscandian rodent cycles, the role of the environment in the modulation of such dynamics is often poorly understood in natural systems. Hence, quantitative links between climate-driven processes and rodent dynamics have so far been lacking. Here we show that winter weather and snow conditions, together with density dependence in the net population growth rate, account for the observed population dynamics of the rodent community dominated by lemmings (Lemmus lemmus) in an alpine Norwegian core habitat between 1970 and 1997, and predict the observed absence of rodent peak years after 1994. These local rodent dynamics are coherent with alpine bird dynamics both locally and over all of southern Norway, consistent with the influence of large-scale fluctuations in winter conditions. The relationship between commonly available meteorological data and snow conditions indicates that changes in temperature and humidity, and thus conditions in the subnivean space, seem to markedly affect the dynamics of alpine rodents and their linked groups. The pattern of less regular rodent peaks, and corresponding changes in the overall dynamics of the alpine ecosystem, thus seems likely to prevail over a growing area under projected climate change.     

Climate modelling: Northern Hemisphere circulation

Air pressure at sea level during winter has decreased over the Arctic and increased in the Northern Hemisphere subtropics in recent decades, a change that has been associated with 50% of the Eurasian winter warming observed over the past 30 years, with 60% of the rainfall increase in Scotland and with 60% of the rainfall decrease in Spain. This trend is inconsistent with the simulated response to greenhouse-gas and sulphate-aerosol changes, but it has been proposed that other climate influences--such as ozone depletion--could account for the discrepancy. Here I compare observed Northern Hemisphere sea-level pressure trends with those simulated in response to all the major human and natural climate influences in nine state-of-the-art coupled climate models over the past 50 years. I find that these models all underestimate the circulation trend. This inconsistency suggests that we cannot yet simulate changes in this important property of the climate system or accurately predict regional climate changes.     

Ecological consequences of major hydrodynamic disturbances on coral reefs

A recent tsunami and an apparent increase in the frequency of severe tropical storms underscore the need to understand and predict the ecological consequences of major hydrodynamic disturbances. Reef corals provide the habitat structure that sustains the high biodiversity of tropical reefs, and thus provide the foundation for the ecosystem goods and services that are critical to many tropical societies. Here we integrate predictions from oceanographic models with engineering theory, to predict the dislodgement of benthic reef corals during hydrodynamic disturbances. This generalizes earlier work, by incorporating colonies of any shape and by explicitly examining the effects of hydrodynamic gradients on coral assemblage structure. A field test shows that this model accurately predicts changes in the mechanical vulnerability of coral colonies, and thus their size and shape, with distance from the reef crest. This work provides a general framework for understanding and predicting the effects of hydrodynamic disturbances on coral reef communities; such disturbances have a major role in determining species zonation and coexistence on coral reefs, and are critical determinants of how coral assemblages will respond to changes in the frequency and intensity of tropical storms associated with a changing climate.     

Potential impacts of a warming climate on water availability in snow-dominated regions

All currently available climate models predict a near-surface warming trend under the influence of rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In addition to the direct effects on climate--for example, on the frequency of heatwaves--this increase in surface temperatures has important consequences for the hydrological cycle, particularly in regions where water supply is currently dominated by melting snow or ice. In a warmer world, less winter precipitation falls as snow and the melting of winter snow occurs earlier in spring. Even without any changes in precipitation intensity, both of these effects lead to a shift in peak river runoff to winter and early spring, away from summer and autumn when demand is highest. Where storage capacities are not sufficient, much of the winter runoff will immediately be lost to the oceans. With more than one-sixth of the Earth's population relying on glaciers and seasonal snow packs for their water supply, the consequences of these hydrological changes for future water availability--predicted with high confidence and already diagnosed in some regions--are likely to be severe.     

Climate change and population declines in a long-distance migratory bird

Phenological responses to climate change differ across trophic levels, which may lead to birds failing to breed at the time of maximal food abundance. Here we investigate the population consequences of such mistiming in the migratory pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca. In a comparison of nine Dutch populations, we find that populations have declined by about 90% over the past two decades in areas where the food for provisioning nestlings peaks early in the season and the birds are currently mistimed. In areas with a late food peak, early-breeding birds still breed at the right time, and there is, at most, a weak population decline. If food phenology advances further, we also predict population declines in areas with a late food peak, as in these areas adjustment to an advanced food peak is insufficient. Mistiming as a result of climate change is probably a widespread phenomenon, and here we provide evidence that it can lead to population declines.     

Origins and estimates of uncertainty in predictions of twenty-first century temperature rise

Predictions of temperature rise over the twenty-first century are necessarily uncertain, both because the sensitivity of the climate system to changing atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations, as well as the rate of ocean heat uptake, is poorly quantified and because future influences on climate-of anthropogenic as well as natural origin-are difficult to predict. Past observations have been used to help constrain the range of uncertainties in future warming rates, but under the assumption of a particular scenario of future emissions. Here we investigate the relative importance of the uncertainty in climate response to a particular emissions scenario versus the uncertainty caused by the differences between future emissions scenarios for our estimates of future change. We present probabilistic forecasts of global-mean temperatures for four representative scenarios for future emissions, obtained with a comprehensive climate model. We find that, in the absence of policies to mitigate climate change, global-mean temperature rise is insensitive to the differences in the emissions scenarios over the next four decades. We also show that in the future, as the signal of climate change emerges further, the predictions will become better constrained.     

气候变化对河北省冬小麦产量的影响——以栾城县为例

基于中国科学院栾城农业生态系统实验站,利用回归分析、T检验、Pearson相关分析和5年直线滑动平均法对河北省栾城县1980—2012年气温和降水的变化特征及其对冬小麦气候产量的影响进行了分析.结果表明:(1)通过对前一年10月—1月和3—5月的冬、春这两个时间段气温和降水的多年变化趋势进行分析发现栾城县冬春气温33年来有明显升高趋势,冬季气温平均每10年升高0.45℃,春季气温平均每10年升高0.75℃,而降水的变化不明显.(2)冬小麦的气候产量与冬、春的气温变化显著相关与降水量的变化相关性不大.(3)当冬季和春季均温都低时,气候产量也会随之较低,即不利于冬小麦生长;当冬季均温在1℃~2.5℃之间并且春季均温较高时,气候产量相对较高,即有利于冬小麦生长;当冬季均温在1℃~2℃之间且春季均温在13.85℃~14.85℃之间时则对冬小麦的生长更为有利.     

Consequences of climate change on the tree of life in Europe

Many species are projected to become vulnerable to twenty-first-century climate changes, with consequent effects on the tree of life. If losses were not randomly distributed across the tree of life, climate change could lead to a disproportionate loss of evolutionary history. Here we estimate the consequences of climate change on the phylogenetic diversities of plant, bird and mammal assemblages across Europe. Using a consensus across ensembles of forecasts for 2020, 2050 and 2080 and high-resolution phylogenetic trees, we show that species vulnerability to climate change clusters weakly across phylogenies. Such phylogenetic signal in species vulnerabilities does not lead to higher loss of evolutionary history than expected with a model of random extinctions. This is because vulnerable species have neither fewer nor closer relatives than the remaining clades. Reductions in phylogenetic diversity will be greater in southern Europe, and gains are expected in regions of high latitude or altitude. However, losses will not be offset by gains and the tree of life faces a trend towards homogenization across the continent.     

Scaling metabolism from organisms to ecosystems

Understanding energy and material fluxes through ecosystems is central to many questions in global change biology and ecology. Ecosystem respiration is a critical component of the carbon cycle and might be important in regulating biosphere response to global climate change. Here we derive a general model of ecosystem respiration based on the kinetics of metabolic reactions and the scaling of resource use by individual organisms. The model predicts that fluxes of CO2 and energy are invariant of ecosystem biomass, but are strongly influenced by temperature, variation in cellular metabolism and rates of supply of limiting resources (water and/or nutrients). Variation in ecosystem respiration within sites, as calculated from a network of CO2 flux towers, provides robust support for the model's predictions. However, data indicate that variation in annual flux between sites is not strongly dependent on average site temperature or latitude. This presents an interesting paradox with regard to the expected temperature dependence. Nevertheless, our model provides a basis for quantitatively understanding energy and material flux between the atmosphere and biosphere.     

应用机器学习技术预测强雨雪天气过程中的积雪

2017年12月～2018年2月冬季,在中国长江中下游流域发生了两次强度强、范围广的强雨雪冰冻天气。在第一次强降雪天气中,由于2018年1月3～4日和5～8日两阶段降雪在中国东部落区高度重叠,导致了较为严重的灾害。为了预测日积雪深度,利用2017年12月～2018年2月和2007年12月～2008年2月这两个时间段上的国家测站日值数据,利用CART决策树算法根据各气象要素生成一个预测当天是否有积雪的二元判别决策树模型。从决策树结构中可以看出,前一日的积雪深度、日最高气温、日平均气温、日最低相对湿度等要素对预测结果的影响重大。且两决策树的结构相似度极高,故该模型对是否有积雪的预测存在普适性。随后利用深度学习方法训练两个时间段上所有预测为有积雪的个例,建立预测积雪深度的回归模型,结果表明,利用该模型训练得到的误差较小,但不足之处在于,预测极端降雪个例的误差大于普通降雪个例。将决策树模型与深度学习模型串接,便能得到预测当天是否有积雪,及积雪深度的模型。相比于前人的研究,该模型能拟合更复杂的特征,得到更精确的预测,使用2018年的数据也能更好地模拟当前的气候背景。     

哺乳动物冬眠的研究进展

哺乳动物具有较高的代谢率、发达的神经体液调节系统,所以能够维持高而恒定的体温.但有些哺乳动物在寒冷和食物资源短缺的冬季或其他不良环境条件下,能自发降低代谢率和体温,进入冬眠状态.综述了国内外哺乳动物冬眠的研究历史和现状,并从冬眠物种的系统学分布、冬眠的原因及其进化和适应意义入手,概括论述了哺乳动物冬眠的代谢抑制及其能量收益、冬眠代谢抑制的生化及分子生物学机制等方面的研究进展,并概括介绍哺乳动物冬眠对医学和人类健康的启示.     

Synchronization of animal population dynamics by large-scale climate

The hypothesis that animal population dynamics may be synchronized by climate is highly relevant in the context of climate change because it suggests that several populations might respond simultaneously to climatic trends if their dynamics are entrained by environmental correlation. The dynamics of many species throughout the Northern Hemisphere are influenced by a single large-scale climate system, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which exerts highly correlated regional effects on local weather. But efforts to attribute synchronous fluctuations of contiguous populations to large-scale climate are confounded by the synchronizing influences of dispersal or trophic interactions. Here we report that the dynamics of caribou and musk oxen on opposite coasts of Greenland show spatial synchrony among populations of both species that correlates with the NAO index. Our analysis shows that the NAO has an influence in the high degree of cross-species synchrony between pairs of caribou and musk oxen populations separated by a minimum of 1,000 km of inland ice. The vast distances, and complete physical and ecological separation of these species, rule out spatial coupling by dispersal or interaction. These results indicate that animal populations of different species may respond synchronously to global climate change over large regions.     

Antarctic climate cooling and terrestrial ecosystem response.

The average air temperature at the Earth's surface has increased by 0.06 degrees C per decade during the 20th century, and by 0.19 degrees C per decade from 1979 to 1998. Climate models generally predict amplified warming in polar regions, as observed in Antarctica's peninsula region over the second half of the 20th century. Although previous reports suggest slight recent continental warming, our spatial analysis of Antarctic meteorological data demonstrates a net cooling on the Antarctic continent between 1966 and 2000, particularly during summer and autumn. The McMurdo Dry Valleys have cooled by 0.7 degrees C per decade between 1986 and 2000, with similar pronounced seasonal trends. Summer cooling is particularly important to Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems that are poised at the interface of ice and water. Here we present data from the dry valleys representing evidence of rapid terrestrial ecosystem response to climate cooling in Antarctica, including decreased primary productivity of lakes (6-9% per year) and declining numbers of soil invertebrates (more than 10% per year). Continental Antarctic cooling, especially the seasonality of cooling, poses challenges to models of climate and ecosystem change.     

Prediction of wintertime heavy snow activity in Northeast China

In Northeast China during the winter, severe snowstorms can occur resulting in both societal and economic damage. In this paper, we explore an effective technique for the seasonal prediction of heavy snow activity, where previous synoptic studies have failed. We employ a year-to-year increment approach and ultimately identify four predictors, x1 to x4 . x1 is the area-averaged soil moisture over the northern part of Northeast China in the preceding month of September and represents the role of land processes. x2 represents the role of sea-air interactions in winter, x3 the preceding summer Mascarene High related to the winter SST over the tropical western Pacific, and x4 is the low-level the thermal condition over Northeast China from the previous year that oppose current year. Cross-validation tests for both 1963-2011 and independent hindcasts between 1983-2010 are performed to validate the prediction ability of our technique. The cross validation test results for 1963-2011 reveal a high correlation coefficient of 0.86 (0.77) between the predicted and observed year-to-year increment of the number of snow days. The model also predicts well the independent hindcast for the years 1983-2011. Therefore, this study provides an effective climate prediction model for Northeast China’s heavy snow activities and thus requires preliminary application in operational settings.     

Winter forest soil respiration controlled by climate and microbial community composition

Most terrestrial carbon sequestration at mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere occurs in seasonal, montane forest ecosystems. Winter respiratory carbon dioxide losses from these ecosystems are high, and over half of the carbon assimilated by photosynthesis in the summer can be lost the following winter. The amount of winter carbon dioxide loss is potentially susceptible to changes in the depth of the snowpack; a shallower snowpack has less insulation potential, causing colder soil temperatures and potentially lower soil respiration rates. Recent climate analyses have shown widespread declines in the winter snowpack of mountain ecosystems in the western USA and Europe that are coupled to positive temperature anomalies. Here we study the effect of changes in snow cover on soil carbon cycling within the context of natural climate variation. We use a six-year record of net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange in a subalpine forest to show that years with a reduced winter snowpack are accompanied by significantly lower rates of soil respiration. Furthermore, we show that the cause of the high sensitivity of soil respiration rate to changes in snow depth is a unique soil microbial community that exhibits exponential growth and high rates of substrate utilization at the cold temperatures that exist beneath the snow. Our observations suggest that a warmer climate may change soil carbon sequestration rates in forest ecosystems owing to changes in the depth of the insulating snow cover.     

连续记录动物冬眠体温数据分析系统的研究

动物冬眠研究是生物学科专家研究动物对环境适应能力的一个重要领域,生物学科专家在动物冬眠的实验研究过程中会采集到大量冬眠数据,这些冬眠数据的分析需要计算机领域的相关技术做支撑。通过在达乌尔黄鼠体内植入半导体温度记录元件记录其冬眠期间体温的变化,由MATLAB与Excel结合对实验数据进行分析研究,开发出了一个基于MATLAB的连续记录动物冬眠体温数据分析的系统。系统主要实现对达乌尔黄鼠冬眠数据的分析,通过设定黄鼠的入眠温度、出眠温度来计算冬眠历时,并由GUI图形用户界面形象的显示出结果。系统程序便于修改、直观易操作,便于生物学科专家通过获取理想分析结果,简化生物学科研究人员对初始的繁琐数据操作过程,为后期生物领域研究做基础。     

极端气候事件的模拟研究进展

介绍了气候模式的发展历程,综述了近年来全球范围内关于极端气候事件的研究现状,比较了不同模式对不同事件的模拟效果并探讨了模拟效果影响因素.虽然不同模式模拟结果有所差异,但大部分模式都能再现极端气候事件的演变过程,并能有效预测未来极端气候变化情况.综述了温室气体增加情景下我国未来极端气候变化的响应研究,提出了其中可能存在的问题,并对未来极端气候模拟研究进行了展望.     

Deglacial rapid sea level rises caused by ice-sheet saddle collapses

The last deglaciation (21 to 7 thousand years ago) was punctuated by several abrupt meltwater pulses, which sometimes caused noticeable climate change. Around 14 thousand years ago, meltwater pulse 1A (MWP-1A), the largest of these events, produced a sea level rise of 14-18?metres over 350?years. Although this enormous surge of water certainly originated from retreating ice sheets, there is no consensus on the geographical source or underlying physical mechanisms governing the rapid sea level rise. Here we present an ice-sheet modelling simulation in which the separation of the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets in North America produces a meltwater pulse corresponding to MWP-1A. Another meltwater pulse is produced when the Labrador and Baffin ice domes around Hudson Bay separate, which could be associated with the '8,200-year' event, the most pronounced abrupt climate event of the past nine thousand years. For both modelled pulses, the saddle between the two ice domes becomes subject to surface melting because of a general surface lowering caused by climate warming. The melting then rapidly accelerates as the saddle between the two domes gets lower, producing nine metres of sea level rise over 500 years. This mechanism of an ice 'saddle collapse' probably explains MWP-1A and the 8,200-year event and sheds light on the consequences of these events on climate.     

The methodology of quantitative assess economic output of climate change

A method is introduced in this paper to study the effect of future climatic change on the economy. The researchers determine the economic output of climate change from historical data, and provide a method to quantitatively predict economic output of climate change by an economic-climatic model. A historical reciprocating examination is used to analyze output data for various crops in eight agricultural areas in China and meteorological data from 160 observatories in China from 1980 to 2000. The results show that the methods used are reasonable to a certain extent and good in application.