Climate instability in the Yili region, Xinjiang during the last glaciation

The climate is influenced by westerlies year in year out and the aeolian loess is widespread in the Yili region, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Through the study of the loess section with a thickness of 21.5 m, much useful information about climatic change in this region during the last glaciation was gotten. Grain size analysis of loess samples in the section showed that the climatic change in the Yili region was of instability during the last glaciation and similar to those of the North Atlantic Ocean and Greenland. In correspondence with the Heinrich events, the percentage of the size fraction of loess with grain size less than 10 μm decreased in cold stadials in the Yili region. This result suggests that the westerly wind be strengthened during the cold periods. Compared with the stadials, the content of the loess with grain size less than 10 μm was increased in interstadials, which indicated that the strength of the westerly wind was weakened. It is obvious that the climate was instable not only in the North Atlantic Ocean and polar regions, but also in other areas of Northern Hemisphere during the last glaciation.     

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.     

伊犁盆地晚更新世黄土—古土壤磁化率特征

新疆伊犁河谷海拔高度不同的两个晚更新世黄土剖面磁化率特征存在显著差异:位于海拔1400 m处的库尔德能布拉黄土剖面,其磁化率特征与黄土高原黄土相同,而海拔850 m处塔勒德黄土剖面的磁化率特征则与黄土高原相反.对两个剖面黄土-古土壤磁化率特征等分析研究认为,造成两个剖面S1古土壤磁化率差异的主要原因是末次间冰期土壤发育时期前者降水量大于后者.     

The paleoclimatic events and cause in the Okinawa Trough during 50 kaBP

Planktonic foraminiferal δ ¹⁸O record for core DGKS9603 from the Okinawa Trough shows a series of climatic fluctuations and sudden cooling events in short time scale during 50 kaBP, which appear to correlate closely to the Younger Dryas and Heinrich events H1-5 recorded in Chinese loess, the South China Sea, the North Atlantic cores and the Greenland ice cores. Three polarity reversal events, correlating to Gothenburg, Mungo and Laschamp events, approximately correspond to Heinrich events H1, H3 and H5 respectively, which could be a cause of global climate changes. The δ ¹⁸O curve of the Okinawa Trough is well associated with the grain size record of the Lijiayuan loess profile in northwestern China and is somewhat different from the climate fluctuations documented in the Greenland ice cores. These correlation results indicate that regional factors play an important role in controlling the climate changes in the East Asia, and the East Asian Monsoon could be the prominent regional controlling factor.     

A 60 000-year loess-paleosol record of millennial-scale summer monsoon instability from Lanzhou, China

The 28-m high-resolution Shajinping loess section in Lanzhou on the Chinese western Loess Plateau records a detailed history of millennial Asian summer monsoon change since the earlier last glaciation. Summer monsoon proxies of soil magnetic susceptibility, carbonate content and soil color show that Asian summer monsoon experienced a series of rapid episodic pulse enhancements spanning only ca. 1-2 ka and have sub-Milankovitch cycles of progressive weakening in low frequency domain since ca. 60 kaBP. Soil formation responds to these by deepening colors, accumulating organic matter, increasing biological channels and leaching certain carbonates. The pedogenic degree generally increases with the degree of enhancement of summer monsoon. These may reflect the impact of the last glacial fast climatic change in the North Atlantic region on Asian summer monsoon.     

Constraints on the duration and freshwater release of Heinrich event 4 through isotope modelling

Heinrich events--abrupt climate cooling events due to ice-sheet instability that occurred during the last glacial period--are recorded in sediment cores throughout the North Atlantic Ocean. Modelling studies have described likely physical mechanisms for these events, but the quantitative characteristics of Heinrich events are less well known. Here we use a climate model of intermediate complexity that explicitly calculates the distribution of oxygen isotopes in the oceans to simulate Heinrich event 4 at about 40,000 yr ago. We compare an ensemble of scenarios for this Heinrich event with oxygen isotope data measured in foraminiferal calcite of a comprehensive set of sediment cores. From this comparison, we obtain a duration of 250 +/- 150 yr and an ice release of 2 +/- 1 m sea-level equivalent for Heinrich event 4, significantly reducing the uncertainties in both values compared to earlier estimates of up to 2,000 yr and 15 m of sea-level equivalent ice release, respectively. Our results indicate that the consequences of Heinrich events may have been less severe than previously assumed, at least with respect to Greenland climate and sea level.     

Geomagnetic anomalies recorded in L9 of the Songjiadian loess section in southeastern Chinese Loess Plateau

Detailed magnetostratigraphic and rock magnetic investigations on L8-S12 of the Songjiadian loess section in the Sanmenxia area,southernmost margin of the Chinese Loess Plateau were conducted in this study.Matuyama/Brunhes (M/B) boundary occurred at the bottom of the loess unit L8.The top and bottom boundaries of the Jaramillo polarity subchron are found in the middle of L10 and the bottom of L12,respectively.Magnetic fabric of the loess layers maintains the original depositional features and the recorded r...     

柴达木盆地应用自然伽玛反演辨认的末次冰期以来的Heinrich事件

采用柴达木盆地达参１井自然伽玛曲线进行古气候反演,得出了末次冰期以来６个短尺度的气候变化事件,与北大西洋Ｈｅｉｎｒｉｃｈ事件（Ｈ１－Ｈ６）及格陵兰冰心和黄土中的短尺度气候事件均能较好对应,一方面表明内陆湖盆能记录气候长尺度和较短尺度气候变化事件,是反映古气候变化良好的信息载体之一;另一方面也证明了自然伽玛曲线能气候长尺度及短尺度的气候变化事件,表胆自然伽玛曲线能较真实反映古气候变化情况,是良好的古     

Grain-size evidence for multiple origins of the reticulate red clay in southern China

The loess-paleosol sequences in Chinese Loess Plateau record the multi-cyclic paleo-climatic changes in the Quaternary period[1]. Presently, what interests people most is that at what degrees and scales the climates in southern China had corresponded to the alternating changes be-tween the glacial and interglacial climates in northern China in the Quaternary period. Many researchers[2―10] hope to find some potential Quaternary sediment materials in southern China, just as the loess-paleoso…     

A 1.5 Ma sporopollen record of paleoecologic environment evolution in the central Chinese Loess Plateau

A 1.5 Ma sporopollen record was obtained from a continuous loess-paleosol sequence at Chaona in the central Chinese Loess Plateau. It shows that (1) arid herbs of largely Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae and arbors of mainly Pinus, Betula and Quercus dominate loess and paleosol, respectively, reflecting cycles of cold-dry and warm-humid conditions of glaciation and interglaciation; (2) that similar vegetation pattern and cold-dry condition were found in times of unusual thick and coarse loesses L9 and L15, which have been regarded as two extremely cold and dry times as indicated by inorganic climatic proxies; and (3) that shifts of vegetations from earlier forest-steppe to open-forest and steppe and then to steppe were found at 0.95 and 0.5 Ma,implying a stepwise of drying of the Loess Plateau in the Quaternary.     

Test of magnetic susceptibility and grain-size age models of loess

Ages of the stratigraphic boundary MIS1/2 and MIS3/4 of the Yuanbu loess section in Linxia are used as the basis of the nodal control age. The age of MIS1/2 and MIS3/4 are obtained from the latest international research result—the climatic events recorded in the stalagmite in the Hulu Cave in Nanjing, that MIS1/2 is 11.5 kaB.P. and MIS3/4 is 59.8 kaB.P.. The ages of the two climatic events contain three nodal age control models (Model 1: 0 kaB.P.—59.8 kaB.P.; Model 2: 0 kaB.P.—11.5 kaB.P. and 11.5 kaB.P.—59.8 kaB.P.; Model 3: 11.5 kaB.P.—59.8 kaB.P.), which are used as the nodal control age separately. The deposition times of various stratigraphic horizons are calculated by using the magnetic susceptibility age model and grain-size age model, and then compared with each other. In addition, the AMS14C age, OSL age and the ages of YD and H events are compared with the ages of the corresponding horizons calculated by the three models of nodal control ages. From the analyses of lithologic characters and climatic stages it has been found that both the magnetic susceptibility age model and the grain-size age model have some defects. Because the accurate control ages are selected as the nodal points of the glacial period or interglacial period, the stratigraphic deposition times determined by the high resolution of magnetic susceptibility age model and grain-size age model approximate to the actual ages. As for the relative accuracy of the two age models, the magnetic susceptibility age model is more accurate than the grain-size age model.     

Palaeoenvironmental implication of the Plio-Pleistocene loess deposits in southern Tarim Basin

The sedimentary characteristics, grain-size distribution, geochemical composition and surface characteristics of quartz grains, together with palaeoenvironmental reconnaissance, all point to an aeolian origin for the intercalated siltstone beds in the Plio-Pleistocene Artux and Xiyu Formations along the southern margins of the Tarim Basin, indicating that loess deposition in the region started, at least, in the Early Pliocene. Loess deposition in the southern Tarim Basin was a response to the global deterioration, which might be attributed to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau.     

A comparative study of n -alkane biomarker and pollen records: an example from southern China

We report the results of a comparative study of n-alkane biomarkers and pollens in lacustrine and peat deposits at Dingnan, Jiangxi Province in southern China, and discuss the likely causes for the discrepancy in the interpretations of the n-alkane biomarker and pollen records in terms of climate and vegetation change. The results show that past changes in climate and vegetation revealed by the n-alkane record are not always consistent with the pollen assemblage record in the whole section. Biomarkers do not permit direct identification of the plant family and/or genus and mainly record compositions of local plant remains, while pollens mainly reflect the regional vegetation change. Biomarkers and pollen records complement each other, providing a better picture of local and regional environments. Furthermore, biomarkers are more sensitive than pollen to climatic and vegetational change. Several climatic events are clearly identified by the n-alkane biomarker proxies, such as C₃₁/(C₂₇+C₂₉+C ₃₁) ratio and can be correlated to the North Atlantic Heinrich event, B/A, YD and two dry-cool events during the early Holocene such as the periods of 9850 to 9585 cal a B.P. and 8590 to 7920 cal a B.P. These events are consistent with those found in the surrounding regions, suggesting that the regional climate was coupled with global-scale abrupt climatic events. Our results suggest that biomarker and pollen data can record the more detailed climate and vegetation information, thus improving the resolution and precision of vegetation and climate reconstruction. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40602004) and National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2004CB720200)     

从沙尘暴看黄土的沉积及黄土高原的形成

以近年来我国西北地区多发的沙尘暴现象为缘起,对沙尘暴的特征、发生机制等进行了讨论;论述了沙尘暴引起的降尘与黄土的堆积与沉积的过程;黄土堆积沉积的年龄、颗粒成分等;以及沙尘暴与高土高原的形成之间的关系,同时论述了黄土高原的环境变迁,认为高空均质粉尘的降落是不均匀的;高空降尘是突发的,而风及流水对堆积粉尘的改造是长期和连续的。     

Origin of illites in the Luochuan loess section

Morphology and composition of illite from the Luochuan loess section were investigated by TEM. The results show that most of the illite grains are characterized by rounded shapes and chemical compositions are closely similar to those of anchizonal illites. The enrichment of illites in paleosol over loess was mainly caused by the weak winter monsoon during the interglacial periods, and was not related to thein situ pedogenesis. Illite can serve as an indicator for tracing eolian dust from Loess Plateau in pelagic and lacustrine sediments.     

New views on age of the Salawusu Formation of Late Pleistocene in northern China

The Salawusu Formation in the Salawusu River basin of Inner Mongolia is a typical sequence of the Upper Pleistocene in northern China. However, there have been some different views about the division and age of stratigraphic facies since the establishment of the Salawusu Formation. According to the stratigraphic subdivision and dating of the Dishaogouwan section, it is thought that the fluviolacustrine-aeolian sand sequence from the Dishaogouwan section can be compared with loess, deep-sea deposit records and climatic fluctuations of glacial period. The Salawusu Formation of fluviolacustrine facies was formed in the last interglacial period from 140 to 70 ka BP, roughly corresponding to the fifth stage of deep-sea oxygen isotope, and developed in the same period as the palaeosol S1 on the Loess Plateau; the aeolian sand of the Chengchuan Formation was formed in the last glacial period from 70 to 10 ka BP, constituting the heteropic geological body along with the Malan Loess on the Loess Plateau; the fluviolacustrine deposit and black soil of the Dagouwan Formation and the Dishaogouwan Formation was formed in the Holocene warm period from 9 700 to 3 000 a BP, or developed in the same period as the plaeosol B1 on the Loess Plateau.     

亚洲中部中更新世以来气候环境变化--来自天山北坡黄土沉积的证据

亚洲中部干旱区的形成演化对于理解干旱区大气粉尘的全球气候环境效应等具有极重要的科学价值。天山北坡沙湾县东湾镇厚71m的风成黄土为探讨该区环境演化提供了极好素材。对该剖面气候代用指标分析表明，中更新世以来气候环境经历了3个时期，在0．60和0．25Ma左右发生了重要气候事件，现在干旱气候格局是0．25Ma左右形成延续至今。     

渭河宝鸡峡全新世古洪水事件研究

通过对渭河流域的调查,在渭河上游宝鸡峡谷发现了含有典型古洪水滞流沉积层的全新世黄土古土壤剖面.对该剖面进行磁化率、烧失量、碳酸钙、粒度等指标的分析测定和论证,明确了古洪水滞流沉积物的基本特点,揭示出全新世古洪水事件的沉积学记录.根据这组古洪水沉积层出现的地层位置和磁化率等气候变化指标,通过与渭河流域诸多剖面的对比,并且结合该剖面所含的龙山文化层和西周文化层考古学断代,确定渭河宝鸡峡谷全新世特大洪水事件发生在3 200~3 000 a B.P..     

从水土保持到全球气候变化:中国黄土研究70年

 中国黄土独特的地层构造一直吸引着不同领域学者的注意。1949年后，黄土研究进入一个全新而系统的阶段。根据大量黄土研究材料，梳理了黄土研究在中国的发展脉络，总结了70年来黄土研究的重要成果。20世纪50-60年代的黄土普查获得了大量关于黄土地区的一手材料，陆续出版有重要影响力的黄土阶段性研究成果；20世纪70年代后，随着新技术与新方法的运用，黄土研究在内容与精度上不断得以丰富与完善；20世纪80年代至今，黄土高原水土流失综合治理研究取得诸多成果，更为重要的是，黄土地层记录的古气候密码逐渐被破解，成为理解全球气候变化的关键因素。在几代学者的共同努力下，中国黄土研究处于世界先进水平。     

Paleoclimatic significance of mineral magnetic properties of loess sediments in northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Loess deposit in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau offers an excellent record of climate and environment changes in this region.We have conducted multiparameter mineral magnetic analyses of smaples of loess deposits from the Dongchuan,Lalakou and Panzishan sections.The methods used include magnetic susceptibility,fre-quency-dependent suceptibility,temperature-dependent susceptibility,isothermal remanent magnetization acquisibility.Maghemite and hematite is also present in the loess layers and paleosol horizons.The higher concentration of maghemite in paleosols suggests that the formation of maghemite occurred during in situ pedogenesis,which plays an important role in the enhancement of the magnetic susceptibitily.Similar to that in the Chinese Loess Plateau lying to the east of the Liupan Mountains,magnetic granulometry in the studied loess and paleosols is predominantly pseudo-single-domain(PSD). However,the mean grain-size of the ferrimagnetic minerals in loess is evidently coarser (larger PSD and multiomain-like) than in paleosols (mainly PSD).The magnetic susceptibility of loess and paleosols is positively correlated with the content of ultrafine magnet-ite/maghemite grains,and hence with the intensity of in situ pedogenesis.Therefore,the enhanced magnetic susceptibility in the studied loess-paleosol sequences can be interpreted as being due to climatically induced in situ pedogenesis.