Reconstructing temperature change in Central East China during 601–920 AD

Using historical records on first and last frost and snow, spring cultivation, David peach blossom, autumn crop harvest, grade of sea freeze and change in northern citrus boundary, we reconstructed temperature change during 601–920 AD. The mean temperature of the winter half-year (October to April) over Central East China during this period was about −0.22°C higher than that of the present (1961–2000 AD mean). During 601–820 AD, mean temperature was about −0.52°C higher than the present. During 821–920 AD, the mean temperature was 0.42°C lower than the present. The temperature fluctuations were characterized by a maximum amplitude of 1.05°C at the centennial scale, 1.38°C at the 50–year scale, 2.02°C at the 30-year scale, and 2.3°C at the 20-year scale. There were four peaks warmer than today (601–620 AD, mean of 1°C higher temperature; 641–660 AD, 1.44°C; 701–720 AD, 0.88°C; 781–800 AD, 0.65°C). Three cold periods were in 741–760, 821–840, and 881–900 AD, the mean temperature of which was 0.37–0.87°C lower than the present.     

Twenty-five years of change in scleractinian coral communities of Daya Bay （northern South China Sea） and its response to the 2008 AD extreme cold climate event

Coral reefs worldwide are becoming increasingly and detrimentally impacted upon by a variety of factors including significant climate changes, such as global warming and increased El Nino-Southern Oscillation activity. Generally, the persistence of coral reefs, especially at low-latitudes, is governed, in part, by sea surface temperatures not exceeding the critical limit （-30℃） at which mass mortality can occur. Thus, it is thought that corals living at high-latitudes （i.e., currently cooler sea surface temperatures） will likely respond more favourably to hypothesized future temperature increases than corals living at low-latitudes （i.e., currently warmer sea surface temperatures）. Consequently, high-latitude coral communities may have the potential to act as regions of refugia for many coral species in the face of potential future global warming. The Daya Bay （22°31′--22°50′N）, northern South China Sea, contains several high-latitude non-reefal coral communities and represents one of the most northerly distributions of scleractinian corals within the region. Significantly, Daya Bay has experienced dramatic warming in both air and sea surface temperatures throughout the past 50 years. In this paper, we analyze 25 years of change in the Daya Bay coral communities, based both on historic surveys and our latest 2006--2008 regional ecological surveys. Our results suggest that, contrary to predictions, there have been significant declines in coral cover within the Daya Bay during the past 25 years （i.e., 76.6% coral cover in 1983/1984 to only 15.3% coral cover by 2008）. Such changes also reflect a significant shift in the most abundant coral species, from Acropora pruinosa to Favites abdita. Most of the modern coral communities became established between 15 and 30 years ago, corresponding to a period of increased winter sea surface temperature. However, very few colonies have become established within the last 15 years, despite a more intense period of warming. By taking into account additional factors, we hypothesize that direct anthropogenic impacts, rather than climatic events, have both restricted the development, and drove the decline, of Daya Bay coral communities in the last 15 years. The Daya Bay has also been subjected to occasional extreme cold events during the past 50 years, with the most recent occurring in early 2008 （13 January-13 February）. During the 2008 cold event, the lowest air temperature reaches only 6.6℃, and the mean sea surface temperature for February fall to 〈 14℃, including six continuous days at 12.3℃. Significantly, the sea surface temperatures fall below the hypothesized critical lower temperature threshold （-13℃） that commonly leads to mass mortality in scleractinian coral communities. Surprisingly, our coral community surveys, conducted both before （August 2007） and after （late February 2008） the extreme 2008 cold event, demonstrate that the Daya Bay coral ecosystems are barely impacted upon during the cold period. Those observations suggest that the Daya Bay scleractinian coral communities have developed adaptations to low sea surface temperatures. Overall, our data support the hypothesis that high-latitude coral communities, such as Daya Bay, have the potential to act as areas of refugia for scleractinian corals in the advent of potential future global warming.     

Simulated and reconstructed winter temperature in the eastern China during the last millennium

Since the 1990s, under the auspicious impetus of two international research programs, the “Past Global Changes” (PAGES) and the “Climate Variability and Pre- dictability” (CLIVAR), massive research work has been carried out on climate and environment changes over the past 2000 years[1-3]. But majority of the studies has been centered on obtaining various kinds of climatic proxy data (such as historical documents, tree rings, ice cores, lake cores) and focused on the reconstruction of…     

Millennial-scale climate change since the last glaciation recorded by grain sizes of loess deposits on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Whether climatic changes in high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere since the last glaciation have effects on the Tibetan Plateau monsoon, and the variation characteristics of the Plateau monsoon itself are still not solved but of great significance. The 22-m high-resolution Ioess-paleosol sequence in the Hezuo Basin on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau demonstrates that the Plateau winter monsoon experienced a millennial variation similar to high latitude Northern Hemisphere, with cold events clearly correlated with Heinrich events but less for the warm events (Dansgarrd-Oeschger events). It may indicate that the climate system at high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere had played an important role in both the Plateau monsoon and the high-level westerlies. On 10^4 year scale, there are two distinct anomalous changes, which are not found in the records from high latitude northern hemisphere, revealed by the loess grain size in the Hezuo Basin. One is that there was a considerable grain size increase at -36 kaBP, suggesting an abrupt enhancement of the Plateau winter monsoon at that time; the other is that, during 43--36 kaBP, the grain size decreased distinctly, indicating a notable weakening of the Plateau winter monsoon around that period. Both of the two anomalies suggest that the Tibetan climate may have been controlled by some other factors, besides the high latitude climatic changes in the Northern Hemisphere.     

The age of formation of the mirabilite and sand wedges in the Hexi Corridor and their paleoclimatic interpretation

The Hexi Corridor is located at the transition zone of the Asian summer monsoon and westerly airflow, and lies in an important position in terms of its ecological fragility and climatic sensitivity. During a recent field expedition to this region, we found a sedimentary mirabilite layer in a number of localities including Suwushan, Yanchi, Baitujing, Yanchi Gaotai, Huahai, Yumen, Halanuo扙r, and Dunhuang (Fig. 1), which have the potential to provide important information about environmenta…     

Estimation of urbanization bias in observed surface temperature change in China from 1980 to 2009 using satellite land-use data

Since the 1980s,China has undergone rapid urbanization.Meanwhile,the climate has been warming substantially.In this paper,the urbanization effect on observed temperatures from 1980 to 2009 in China is estimated,based on analysis of urban land use from satellite observation.Urban land-use expansion(U) during 1980-2005 is applied as an urbanization index.According to these U values,stations are divided into three categories:(C1) intense urbanization around the stations;(C2) moderate urbanization around the stations;and(C3) minimal urbanization around the stations.Most C1 stations are in municipalities or provincial capitals,while C2 stations tend to be in prefecture-level cities.C3 stations are mostly in counties.The urban heat island(UHI) effect can be estimated if the urban effect on C3 is negligible.The warming of C1 or C2 relative to that of C3 represents their urbanization effects,assuming that the same larger-scale natural warming has affected each category.For C1,the local urbanization effect is 0.258°C/10 a over 1980-2009,accounting for 41% of the total warming;the trend at C2 is 0.099°C/10 a,or 21%.For all China,the urbanization effect is 0.09°C/10a,accounting for 20% of the total national warming.Winter urban warming is greater than in summer.The assumption of negligible urbanization effect on C3 is debatable,and so the true urbanization effect may equal or slightly exceed estimates.Further,the U index may have some uncertainties,for it is only one of the urbanization indices.However,it provides a new and direct estimation of environmental change,in contrast to indirect indices.     

Recognition of climatic effects of land use/land cover change under global warming

Greenhouse gas emissions and land use/land cover change (LUCC) are two human activities notably affecting climate change. Will temperature and precipitation increase significantly during global warming resulting in more pronounced LUCC climatic effects? Considering the interannual forcing of these two factors, the NCAR Community Atmosphere Model (CAM4.0) was used in this study to investigate the importance of climatological background to LUCC impacts. Experiments based on the difference in the background climate, the greenhouse gas concentrations in 1850 and in the present age indicate contrary changes in climate sensitivity through estimations of the radiative forcing associated with LUCC, which are 0.54°C/(W/m²) and ?0.26°C/(W/m²), respectively. Therefore, the background climate appears to play an important role in the regional impact of LUCC, especially at higher latitudes. In addition, global warming predominantly influences snow-albedo feedback in the mid-latitudes, thus determining the impact of LUCC, whereas the regional difference in precipitation caused by global warming is responsible for the differing climate response to LUCC in the tropics and subtropics.     

土地利用/土地覆盖变化对区域气候影响的生物地球物理途径研究进展

本文从LUCC对气候影响的生物地球物理途径角度阐述其对气候系统的影响机制,并且结合多项研究结果归纳了诸如森林砍伐/造林活动、城市化、农业发展等人类LUCC活动在区域尺度的气候效应.气候模式是研究LUCC对区域气候及其变化最重要的试验工具之一,本文概括了气候模式经历了大气环流模式、区域气候模式、耦合的大气-陆面模式等一系列发展过程及其特点,提出利用遥感技术获取气候模式中的地面生物物理参数可以大幅提高模拟精度.最后,评论了目前LUCC气候效应研究中存在的问题,提出未来研究应着手降低区域气候模式模拟的不确定性,引入景观生态学理论与方法等可以更好地了解人类活动与气候变化的关系,进而制定适应气候变化的区域土地系统优化方案.     

Discovery of a large area of ice-wedge networks in Ordos： Implications for the southern boundary of permafrost in the north of China as well as for the environment in the latest 20 kaBP

Deep sea deposits, ice cores and loess deposits have been used extensively and successfully, to study global climatic changes. Since permafrost is a consequence of cold climates, indicators of permafrost can also be used to reconstruct ancient climates in certain areas during certain periods. The recent discovery of large areas of ice wedge networks, and determination of their ages, have enabled us to locate the southern boundary of the permafrost that ex-isted in China about 20 thousand years…     

Differential rotation of geomagnetic field

The westward drift of the main geomagnetic field has been extensively studied since Halley[1] first discov-ered this phenomenon. It has been widely accepted that the global field drifts westward with an average velocity of 0.2/a[2—4]. The detailed features of the drift have been also detected, such as different drift rates for dipole and non-dipole fields, drifting and standing parts in the field, the latitudinal dependence of the drift rate, and the north-ward drift[5—12]. Several models, f…     

High resolution stalagmite δ18O records over the past 1000 years from Dongge Cave in Guizhou

Based on MC-ICP-MS U-series dating andstable O-isotope analysis results, a 4-5 years resolution monsoon record over the past 1000 years has been established for two stalagmites from Dongge Cave, Guizhou. The high resolution oxygen isotope record serves as a proxy for variations in rainfall of Asian southwest monsoon over the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. A close relation of the δ18O record with the A^14C record from tree rings largely reflects impact of centennial-scale solar activity on the monsoon climate changes. The conspicuous decrease in the δ18O value at AD 1720 indicates an abrupt increase in monsoon rainfall, suggesting that an atmospheric-oceanic couple over the tropical Indian Ocean plays an important role in rapid increase of the Northern Hemisphere temperature over the last century.     

An experimental study of dehydration melting of phengite-bearing eclogite at 1.5―3.0 GPa

Dehydration melting experiments were performed on ultrahigh-pressure eclogite from Bixiling in the Dabie orogen at 1.5--3.0 GPa and 800--950℃ using piston cylinder apparatus. The results show that （1） eclogite with -5% phengite started to melt at T≤800--850℃ and P = 1.5--2.0 GPa and produced about 3% granitic melt; （2） the products of dehydration melting of phengite-bearing eclogite vary with temperature and pressure. Fluid released from dehydration of phengite and zoisite leads to partial melting of eclogite and formation of plagioclase reaction rim around kyanite at pressures of 1.5--2.0 GPa and temperatures of 800--850℃; （3） phengite reacted with omphacite and quartz and produced oligoclase, kyanite and melt at elevated temperatures. Oligoclase is the primary reaction product produced by partial melting of phengite in the eclogite; and （4） the dehydration melting of phengite-bearing eclogite at pressures of 1.5--3.0 GPa and temperatures ≥900℃ results in formation of garnets with higher molar fraction of pyrope （37.67 wt.%--45.94 wt.%）. Potassium feldspar and jadeite occur at P = 2.4--3.0 GPa and T≥900℃, indicating higher pressure and fluid-absent conditions. Our results constrain the solidus for dehydration melting of phengite-bearing eclogite at pressures of 1.5--3.0 GPa. Combining experi- mental results with field observations of partial melting in natural eclogites, we concluded that phengite-bearing eclogites from the Dabie-Sulu orogen were able to partially molten at P= 1.5--2.0 GPa and T= 800--850℃ during exhumation. The ultrahigh-high pressure eclogites would have experienced partial melting in association with metamorphic phase transformation under different fluid conditions.     

The climatic suitability for maize cultivation in China

To provide scientific support for planning maize production and designing countermeasures against the effects of climate change on the national maize crop, we analyzed the climatic suitability for cultivating maize across China. These analyses were based on annual climate indices at the Chinese national level; these indices influence the geographical distribution of maize cultivation. The annual climate indices, together with geographical information on the current cultivation sites of maize, the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model, and the ArcGIS spatial analysis technique were used to analyze and predict maize distribution. The results show that the MaxEnt model can be used to study the climatic suitability for maize cultivation. The eight key climatic factors affecting maize cultivation areas were the frost-free period, annual average temperature, ≥0°C accumulated temperature, ≥10°C accumulated temperature continuous days, ≥10°C accumulated temperature, annual precipitation, warmest month average temperature, and humidity index. We classified climatic zones in terms of their suitability for maize cultivation, based on the existence probability determined using the MaxEnt model. Furthermore, climatic thresholds for a potential maize cultivation zone were determined based on the relationship between the dominant climatic factors and the potential maize cultivation area. The results indicated that the importance and thresholds of main climate controls differ for different maize species and maturities, and their specific climatic suitability should be studied further to identify the best cultivation zones. The MaxEnt model is a useful tool to study climatic suitability for maize cultivation.     

Climatological distribution and diurnal variation of mesoscale convective systems over China and its vicinity during summer

The climatological distribution of mesoscale convective systems （MCSs） over China and its vicinity during summer is statistically analyzed, based on the 10-year （1996-2006, 2004 excluded） June-August infrared TBB （Temperature of black body） dataset. Comparing the results obtained in this paper with the distribution of thunderstorms from surface meteorological stations over China and the distribution of lightning from low-orbit satellites over China and its vicinity in the previous studies, we find that the statistic characteristics of TBB less than -52℃ can better represent the spatiotemporal distribution of MCSs over China and its vicinity during summer. The spreading pattern of the MCSs over this region shows three transmeridional bands of active MCSs, with obvious fluctuation of active MCSs in the band near 30^oN. It can be explained by the atmospheric circulation that the three bands of active MCSs are associated with each other by the summer monsoon over East Asia. We focus on the diurnal variations of MCSs over different underlying surfaces, and the result shows that there are two types of MCSs over China and its vicinity during summer. One type of MCSs has only one active period all day long （single-peak MCSs）, and the other has multiple active periods （multi-peak MCSs）. Single-peak MCSs occur more often over plateaus or mountains, and multi-peak MCSs are more common over plains or basins. Depending on lifetimes and active periods, single-peak MCSs can be classified as Tibetan Plateau MCSs, general mountain MCSs, Ryukyu MCSs, and so on. The diurnal variation of multi-peak MCSs is very similar to that of MCCs （mesoscale convective complexes）, and it reveals that multi-peak MCSs has longer life cycle and larger horizontal scale, becomes weaker after sunset, and develops again after midnight. Tibetan Plateau MCSs and general mountain MCSs both usually develop in the afternoon, but Tibetan Plateau MCSs have longer life cycle and more active MαCSs. Ryukyu MCSs generally develop after     

Surface ozone observations during voyages to the Arctic and Antarctic regions

Surface ozone concentration and UV-B data between 75° N and 70° S were obtained aboard the Chinese polar scientific vessel “Xue -long” (Snow-Dragon) during the first voyage to the Arctic and the 16th to the Antarctic in 1999–2000. Analysis of these data presents that variations of the surface ozone concentration have small amplitude during voyages except the mid-latitude in the Northern Hemisphere. As a whole, average surface ozone concentration in the Northern Hemisphere is higher than that in the Southern, and high value occurred when the ship sailed close to the continents. The average diurnal variations of the surface ozone in the Northern Hemisphere are also higher compared to the southern counterparts, and high diurnal variations were found at low latitudes, and relative low level in the polar region.     

Variability of snail growing season at the Chinese Loess Plateau during the last 75 ka

Knowledge of seasonal climate change is one of the key issues facing Quaternary paleoclimatic studies and estimating seasonal climate change is difficult,especially changes such as seasonal length on glacial-interglacial timescales.The stable isotope composition from seasonal land snail shells provides the potential to reveal seasonal climatic features.Two modern land snail species,cold-aridiphilous Pupilla aeoli and thermo-humidiphilous Punctum orphana,were collected from different climatic zones in 18 localities across the Chinese Loess Plateau,spanning 11 degrees of longitude and covering a range of 1000 km2.The duration of the snail growing season(temperature ≥10℃) was shorter(202 ± 6 d) in the eastern Loess Plateau compared with in the western Loess Plateau(162 ±7 d).The δ13C of P.aeoli shells was ?9.1‰ to ?4.7‰ and ?5.0‰ to 0.3‰ for δ18O.For P.orphana,the δ13C ranged from ?9.1‰ to ?1.9‰ and ?8.9‰ to ?2.9‰ for δ18O.Both the δ13C and δ18O differences between the two snail species were reduced from the east to the western Loess Plateau(2.8‰ to 0.2 ± 1.1‰ for δ13C and 4.7‰ to 2.9 ± 1.3‰ for δ18O).These isotopic differences roughly reflect the difference in the growing season lengths between the east and west Loess Plateau indicating that the duration of the snail growing season shortens by 15 d or 19 d if the difference decreases by 1‰ in δ13C or δ18O,respectively.Thus,the difference in δ13C and δ18O between both snail species can be used to reveal the length of the snail growing season in the past.Based on our investigation,the length of the snail growing seasons from the Xifeng region during the last 75 ka was reconstructed.During the mid-Holocene(8-3 ka),the mean isotopic difference from both snail species reached maximum values of 2.6 ± 0.7‰ and 2.1 ± 1.4‰ for δ13C and δ18O,respectively.This was followed by MIS 3 that ranged from 2.5 ± 0.4‰ for δ13C and 1.6 ± 0.8‰ for δ18O.The Last Glacial Maximum changed by only 0.2‰ and 0.4‰ for δ13C and δ18O,respectively.Therefore,we estimate that the duration of the snail growing seasons to be ～200 ± 10 d during the mid-Holocene,190 ± 6 d in MIS 3 and 160 ± 3 d during the last glacial period.     

Distribution characteristics of ^137Cs in wind-eroded soil profile and its use in estimating wind erosion modulus

~~Distribution characteristics of ~(137)Cs in wind-eroded soil profile and its use in estimating wind erosion modulus1.Tamura, T, Jacobs, D. G, Structural implications in cesium sorp-tion, Health Physics, 1960, 6(2): 391-398. 2.Rogowshi, A. S., Tamura, T, Movement of 137Cs by runoff, erosion and infiltration on the alluvial captina silt loam, Health Physics, 1965, 11(12): 1333-3340. 3.Owens, P. N., Walling, D. E., He, Q. P., The behaviour of bomb-derived caesium-137 fallout in …     

A very strong summer monsoon event during 30–40 kaBP in the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau and its relation to precessional cycle

Guliya ice core records, high lake-level records in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and at its north side as well as vegetation succession records indicated that during the period of 30–40 kaBP, namely the later age of the megainterstadial of last glacial period, or the marine oxygen isotope stage 3, the climate of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau was exceptionally warm and humid, the temperature was 2–4°C higher than today and the precipitation was 40% to over 100% higher than the current average, all these suggested the existence of an exceedingly strong summer monsoon event. It has been inferred that the occurrence of such an event was attributed, on the one hand, to the stronger summer low pressure over the Plateau, which strengthened the attraction to the summer monsoon; on the other hand, to the vigorous evaporation of the tropic ocean surface, which promoted the moisture-rich southwest monsoon to flow over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The background responsible for the formation of the very strong summer monsoon was that the period of 30–40 kaBP was just in the strong insolation stage of the 20ka precessional cycle, when the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau received extraordinary strong solar radiation and thus enlarged the thermodynamical contrast between the Plateau and the midsouth part of the Indian Ocean.     

The climate influence of anthropogenic land-use changes on near-surface wind energy potential in China

There is considerable interest in the potential impact of climate change on wind energy in China. The climate change of near-surface wind energy potential in China under the background of global warming and its association with anthropogenic land-use changes are investigated by calculating the difference in surface wind speeds between the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and the observations since the reanalysis dataset contains the influence of large-scale climate changes due to greenhouse gases, it is less sensitive to regional surface processes associated with land types. The surface wind data in this study consist of long-term observations from 604 Chinese Roution Meteorological Stations and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data from 1960-1999. The results suggest that the observed mean wind speeds significantly weakened and the near-surface wind power trended downward due to urbanization and other land-use changes in the last 40 years. The mean wind energy weakened by -3.84 W·m^-2 per decade due to the influence of anthropogenic land-use change, which is close to the observed climate change （-4.51 W·m^-2/10 a）.     

The strengthening East Asia summer monsoon since the early 1990s

Previous studies have documented a weakening tendency of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) since the end of the 1970s. In this study, we report that the EASM has been recovering since the early 1990s, although its strength is still less than in previous decades (averaged over the period 1965-1980). Following the recovery of the EASM, there has been a tendency in the last decade toward northward-moving rainbands and excessive rainfall in the Huaihe River valley (110°-120°E, 30°-35°N). There is evidence suggesting that the strengthening EASM since the early 1990s is linked to interdecadal change of land-sea thermal contrast.