Environmental indicators from comparison of sporopollen in early Pleistocene lacustrine sediments from different climatic zones

Two lacustrine sporopollen records obtained from the Qaidam Basin (in the non-monsoonal region) and the Linxia Basin (in the monsoonal transition zone) indicate that during the early Pleistocene open forest-steppe/steppe vegetation developed in the Qaidam Basin, while in the Linxia Basin an open cypress forest-steppe shifted to a conifer/conifer-steppe and then to open forest-steppe vegetation. Existing sporopollen records from the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) (in the monsoonal region) indicate that around the Sanmen Paleolake open forest-steppe shifted to pine/conifer-broadleaved mixed forest. The conifer cover then changed to a subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest distributed around the Nihewan Paleolake. These changes suggest that wetter conditions progressed from western China to the east, and the climate became more humid than that of today indicating a stronger Asian summer monsoon during the early Pleistocene.     

Millennial-scale monsoonal climatic change from paleosol sequences on the Chinese western Loess Plateau and Tibetan Plateau: a brief summary and review

This paper summarizes the work from the INQUA 1997 Project "Response of soil formation to short-warm-episodes of Asian summer monsoon" and its seeded related international and domestic grants. It reviews the effects of the millennial monsoonal changes on the loess- paleosols of the Chinese Loess and Tibetan Plateaus. High-resolution proxy records of pedogenesis and monsoons demonstrate that both Asian winter and summer monsoons were unstable and synchronously and inversely coupled during the last glaciation. During that time rapid episodic cycles of cold surges and warm enhancements spanned only ca. 1-2 ka in high- frequency domain. Sub-Milankovitch cycles (6-8 ka) of progressive cooling or weakening in low- frequency domain generally resembled the pattern of the North Atlantic climatic change. However, during the last interglacial, Asian winter and summer monsoons seemed to vary independently, the former being stable and the later unstable. Soil formation seems to occur in surprisingly fast response to the summer monsoon warm enhancements, resulting in weakly or moderately developed paleosol sequences. North Atlantic and polar cold air surges though the westerlies and other paths, and the north-south swing of the westerlies beside the Tibetan Plateau, may be the alternative mechanisms for the rapid monsoonal changes during the last glacial. But in the last interglacial, the summer monsoons worked largely independently.     

Inverse correlation between ancient winter and summer monsoons in East Asia？

There is a scientific debate on the relationship between ancient winter and summer monsoons in East Asia. Some scholars think that East Asian winter and summer monsoons are anti-correlated, and others think not. For this reason, this study is motivated to assess their linkage from the paleoclimate simulation perspective, through analyzing the Last Glacial Maximum （LGM） and mid-Holocene （MH） climate simulated by CCSM3 model. Compared to the present climate, the Aleutian low is found to be deepened and the East Asian winter monsoon （EAWM） is stronger during the LGM winter. The Pacific high in summer is noticed to be weakened and the East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） is weaker at the LGM. During the MH, the Aleutian low and the Asian high in winter are intensified, and the Asian low and the Pacific high in summer are enhanced, indicating that the EAWM and EASM are both stronger than today. Therefore, the EAWM is not always negatively correlated to the EASM. Their relationship may be different at different geological stages. It can be obtained at least from the numerical simulation results that the EAWM and the EASM is negatively correlated during the cooling period, while positively correlated during the warming period.     

East Asian monsoon change for the 21st century: Results of CMIP3 and CMIP5 models

Forty-two climate models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phases 3 and 5 were first evaluated in terms of their ability to simulate the present climatology of the East Asian winter (December-February) and summer (June-August) monsoons. The East Asian winter and summer monsoon changes over the 21st century were then projected using the results of 31 and 29 reliable climate models under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) mid-range A1B scenario or the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) mid-low-range RCP4.5 scenario, respectively. Results showed that the East Asian winter monsoon changes little over time as a whole relative to the reference period 1980-1999. Regionally, it weakens (strengthens) north (south) of about 25°N in East Asia, which results from atmospheric circulation changes over the western North Pacific and Northeast Asia owing to the weakening and northward shift of the Aleutian Low, and from decreased north- west-southeast thermal and sea level pressure differences across Northeast Asia. In summer, monsoon strengthens slightly in East China over the 21st century as a consequence of an increased land-sea thermal contrast between the East Asian continent and the adjacent western North Pacific and South China Sea.     

"昆仑-黄河运动"与我国自然地理格局的形成

"昆仑-黄河运动"是发生在早、中更新世之交的一次强烈的构造运动.这次构造运动不仅影响到了整个青藏高原,把高原面抬升至3000～3500 m,局部地区的山地上升到4500～5000 m的高度,导致青藏高原进入冰冻圈,而且影响大气环流型式,形成了东亚季风的现代格局.冬季风加强和夏委风减弱使得我国北方干旱化加剧,沙漠面积扩大,湖泊消退,亚热带植物从秦岭以北南撤到南方,而且使得黄土堆积范围得到扩展,黄土堆积速度加快.这次构造运动后基本形成了我国自然地理的现代格局.     

川东北宋家洞石笋氧碳同位素及锶含量突变分析

通过对宋家洞石笋SJ3的氧碳同位素及锶含量进行Mann-Kendall test突变分析,得出以下结论:(1)氧同位素值记录了末次冰盛期向Heinrich Event 1时期的转变;(2)碳同位素值和锶含量记录了由H1冷期向BФlling-AllerФd暖期的转变;(3)碳同位素值和锶含量指示了在19.8～15.3ka时当地的东亚夏季风和冬季风呈正相关关系,在15.3～14.8 ka呈负相关关系,表明石笋SJ3记录了古气候环境的冷干、暖湿变化,且不同气候指标对环境变化的敏感度不同。     

北部湾北部近岸全新世沉积环境变化及对8.2 ka小冷期的响应

【目的】北部湾北部是东亚夏季风、印度季风以及蒙古冷高压影响的交汇处,对气候变化敏感,该区沉积物要素在全新世的分布与变化,可反映该区气候波动特征和海岸格局演进之影响因素。【方法】在北部湾北部广西水域依次钻取3孔岩芯并进行粒度、矿物、元素、微体古生物测试鉴定以及~(14) C测年,综合分析对比沉积物要素的垂直分布、变化以及响应特征。【结果】全新世孢粉组合为热带-亚热带山地组合。岩芯粒度波动旋回变化,经历了自河床向浅海湾的变迁,沉积物具有陆源性,元素等几乎与沉积旋回细组分同步变化。早期三角洲盆地钻孔显示为盐沼环境;相对晚更新世或者末期,全新世早期沉积物颗粒粗减细增,有机质增幅超过700%。碎屑矿物种类增加,孢粉和硅藻化石逐步丰富,硅藻属种数也保持增加趋势,沉积速率为全新世平均值的1.36~1.85倍,具有风化较强、水沙丰沛、沉积快、物质分配活跃、生物较为繁盛的特点,与邻区全新世中早期气候适宜期相符合。早期气候仍然波动,可辨认出8.2ka小冷期事件的影响,Sr/Ba比值偏低。【结论】研究区作为东亚低纬度季风区海陆过渡界面,其环境变化与气候变化相联系。     

Anti-correlation of summer/winter monsoons?

On the basis of the anti-correlation of their palaeoclimatic proxy for the strength of the East Asian winter monsoon from Lake Huguang Maar, China, with stalagmite records of the strength of the summer monsoon, Yancheva et al. claim that the strengths of the summer and winter monsoons are anti-correlated on a decadal timescale. They argue that the summer rainfall deficit during ad 700-900 that they infer from their evidence of a stronger winter monsoon, in conjunction with a Tanros battle, led to the collapse of the Tang dynasty (ad 618-907). Using historical climate records, we show here that most cold winters during ad 700-900 were associated with relatively wet summers, indicating that the strengths of the winter and summer monsoons were not negatively correlated during this period.     

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.     

试论我国的气候资源与旅游的关系

人们在旅游活动中与大气直接接触，旅游活动受到气候的各种影响。良好的气候条件（如温度适宜、阳光明媚）可吸引游客，促进旅游发展，西班牙正是利用地中海气候成功地发展了旅游业。而不利的气候条件（如严寒、酷暑）刚限制旅游业发展。气候作为自然要素可直接或间接参与旅游景观的形成。例如我国黄山以奇松、怪石、云海、温泉“四绝”著称，前三者均直接或间接与气候有关。季风现象显著是我国气候的重要特征，我国大部分地区四季分明：春温、夏热、秋久、冬寒。就全国范围来说，我国以秋季最宜旅游，次为春季和夏季，冬季我国北部和西部地区旅游有一定困难。目前来华游客以春、夏、秋（每年４—１１月）为旺季，冬季（每年１２一次年３月）为淡季，与我国季风气候特点基本相符。掌握气候规律，充分利用我国气候资源来为旅游活动服务，将进一步促进我国旅游业兴旺发达。     

Loess-soil sequences in southern Anhui Province： Magnetostratigraphy and paleoclimatic significance

Two parallel loess-soil sequences from Xuancheng and Fanchang in southern Anhui Provinces are dated using geomagnetic and luminescence methods.The Brunhes/Matuyama(B/M) reversal boundary is recognized within the lower part of the so-calles Vermiculated Red Soil (VRS) in the Xuancheng section while the entire Fanchang sequence is of Brunhes age.This indicated that the most recent VRS in southern China,a stratigraphic marker and an indication of extremely warm-humid conditions,was formed during the middle Pleistocene,chronologically correlative with the S4 and S5 soil units in northern China.Microscopic and sedimentologic in vestigations reveal that eolian deposition started in this region at about 0.85 MaBp,roughly synchronous with the well-known Mid-Pleistocene climate change of global significance.The strengthening of both summer and winter monsoon circulations and the consequent river hydrological changes at that time would have provided favorable conditions for sustained eolian deposition in the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River since 0.85 MaBP.     

Characteristics of decadal-centennial-scale changes in East Asian summer monsoon circulation and precipitation during the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age and in the present day

Using meteorological observations, proxies of precipitation and temperature, and climate simulation outputs, we synthetically analyzed the regularities of decadal-centennial-scale changes in the summer thermal contrast between land and ocean and summer precipitation over the East Asian monsoon region during the past millennium; compared the basic characteristics of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) circulation and precipitation in the present day, the Little Ice Age (LIA) and the Medieval Warm Period (MWP); and explored their links with solar irradiance and global climate change. The results indicate that over the last 150 years, the EASM circulation and precipitation, indicated by the temperature contrast between the East Asian mainland and adjacent oceans, had a significant decadal perturbation and have been weaker during the period of rapid global warming over the past 50 years. On the centennial time scale, the EASM in the MWP was strongest over the past 1000 years. Over the past 1000 years, the EASM was weakest in 1450-1570. When the EASM circulation was weaker, the monsoon rain belt over eastern China was generally located more southward, with there being less precipitation in North China and more precipitation in the Yangtze River valley; therefore, there was an anomalous pattern of southern flood/northern drought. From the 1900s to 1920s, precipitation had a pat- tern opposite to that of the southern flood/northern drought, with there being less precipitation in the Yangtze River valley and more precipitation in North China. Compared with the case for the MWP, there was a longer-time-scale southern flood/northern drought phenomenon in 1400-1600. Moreover, the EASM circulation and precipitation did not synchronously vary with the trend of global temperature. During the last 150 years, although the annual mean surface temperature around the world and in China has increased, the EASM circulation and precipitation did not have strengthening or weakening trends. Over the past 1000 years, the weakest EASM occurred ahead of the lowest Northern Hemispheric temperature and corresponded to the weakest solar irradiance.     

6000年前中国古气候的数值模拟

用中科院大气物理研究所的9层大气环流模式IAP9LAGCM模拟了6000年前1月份和7月份我国的古气候，发现6000年前冬、夏季风均比现在要强，东亚季风气候更明显；在华夏文明发祥地的黄河、渭水流域，6000年前夏季降水比现在多，气温与现在相当，而冬季降水则与现在持平，气温甚至还略高。     

基于耦合气候系统模式的中全新世黄、东海海表通量分析

对中全新世(6,ka时期)海洋和气候的研究可加深人们对现阶段气候变化和海洋环境的认识,为预测未来海洋与气候环境变化提供一个重要参照.文章分析一个耦合气候系统模式FGOALS-s2.0的模式结果,首先对其工业革命前(0,ka时期)东亚地区夏季降水及冬、夏季10,m风场的模拟结果进行评估,然后进一步对中全新世和工业革命前黄、东海海表大气强迫的季节变化进行了对比.结果显示:模式模拟出0,ka时期东亚夏季降水从东南洋面至西北内陆减少的空间分布特点,冬、夏季10,m风场亦与观测大体一致;6,ka时期夏季,黄、东海风速较0,ka时期增大约0.8,m/s,16%左右;黄海风应力旋度值为正,东海为负,与0,ka时期相比旋度绝对值均增大;同时,两海区接收的太阳短波辐射较0,ka时期均增加,短波辐射的差异是中全新世夏季黄、东海海表的净热吸收增加的主要因子.6,ka时期冬季,黄、东海北风加强,东海增加量在0.5~1.0,m/s,幅度约为10%,较黄海更为明显;两海区在冬季的净热释放也较0,ka时期增大,东海释放更甚;冬季黄、东海风应力旋度较0,ka时期则无太大差别.研究表明,由于6,ka时期太阳辐射季节循环的改变,造成了黄、东海夏季风增强,海表净热通量也发生相应变化,该时期大气强迫场的变化可能会使黄、东海表层水温分布趋势发生较大改变,进而影响陆架环流格局.     

Seven million-year iron geochemistry record from a thick eolian red clay-loess sequence in Chinese Loess Plateau and the implications for paleomonsoon evolution

Recently, the Tertiary red clay sequence underlying Pleistocene loess has attracted much attention. The remarkable progress is the recognition that the Tertiary red clay sequence is also wind-blown in origin, thus providing a good opportunity to reconstruct long-term monsoon changes. In contrast to the loess deposits, the magnetic susceptibility and the pedogenic characteristics are almost independent of each other in the red clay, thus challenging the validity of the readily measurable magnetic susceptibility in describing the monsoon history recorded by the red clay. With the objective to address the long-term East Asia summer monsoon evolution, the free to total Fe₂O₃ ratios were calculated in a continuous eolian red clay-loess sequence at Lingtai, the Chinese Loess Plateau, which has a thickness of 305 m and a basal age of 7.0 Ma. The seven million-year Fe₂O₃ ratio record from the red clay-loess sequence indicates that (ⅰ) variations of the free to total Fe₂O₃ ratios of the loess can correlate generally with the alternations of the loess and paleosol horizons; (ⅱ) the East Asia summer monsoon was stronger as a whole in Neogene than that in Quaternary; (ⅲ) the strongest East Asia summer monsoon may occur between 4.0 and 4.8 Ma. The relatively small ice volume and high global temperature may be responsible for the strong summer monsoon during the early Pliocene.     

Palaeoclimate simulation of Little Ice Age

Promotedbytheinternationalresearch projectsofPAGESandCLIVAR ,thestudiesonclimaticandenvironmentalchangesinthepast 2 0 0 0yearshavedrawntheattentionofgeologistsandpalaeoclimato logistsallovertheworld[1,2 ] .AmongthemthecoldeventoftheLittleIceAge (LIA)isparticularlythemostattractiveone[3～ 10 ] ,whichisthenearesttypicalcoldperiodintheglobalrangefrommodernage ,andhadaprofoundimpactuponhumansociety[11] .Addi tionally ,moreknowledgeaboutthecauseoforiginanddynamicmechanismofLIAmayenrichandpe…     

Short-term climatic impacts of afforestation in the East Asian monsoon region

The influence of changes in vegetation cover on short-term climate over the East Asian monsoon region is simulated using the Community Climate System Model Version 3.5.The results show the annual mean surface air temperature significantly decreases by 0.93°C in response to afforestation over the East Asian monsoon region.Also,surface air temperature decreases by 1.46 and 0.40°C in summer and winter,respectively.The cooling is caused by enhanced evapotranspiration(ET) produced by increased forest cover.Evapotranspiration is greater in summer than in winter,so summer cooling is greater than winter cooling.The annual mean precipitation increases in response to afforestation,with a maximum of 7% in April.Water vapor increases significantly because of greater latent heat flux release.Meanwhile,afforestation leads to higher surface roughness,which decreases surface wind speed and induces an ascending air motion.These factors can produce more clouds and precipitation.Moreover,the surface albedo and the reflective solar radiation are reduced in response to afforestation.     

Influence of the intertropical convergence zone on the East Asian monsoon

The Asian-Australian monsoon is an important component of the Earth's climate system that influences the societal and economic activity of roughly half the world's population. The past strength of the rain-bearing East Asian summer monsoon can be reconstructed with archives such as cave deposits, but the winter monsoon has no such signature in the hydrological cycle and has thus proved difficult to reconstruct. Here we present high-resolution records of the magnetic properties and the titanium content of the sediments of Lake Huguang Maar in coastal southeast China over the past 16,000 years, which we use as proxies for the strength of the winter monsoon winds. We find evidence for stronger winter monsoon winds before the B?lling-Aller?d warming, during the Younger Dryas episode and during the middle and late Holocene, when cave stalagmites suggest weaker summer monsoons. We conclude that this anticorrelation is best explained by migrations in the intertropical convergence zone. Similar migrations of the intertropical convergence zone have been observed in Central America for the period ad 700 to 900 (refs 4-6), suggesting global climatic changes at that time. From the coincidence in timing, we suggest that these migrations in the tropical rain belt could have contributed to the declines of both the Tang dynasty in China and the Classic Maya in Central America.     

南亚季风环流与臭氧时空分布变化关系的特征分析

利用2005年1月至2017年12月搭载在美国环境监测Aura卫星上的臭氧监测仪（Ozone Monitoring Instrument, OMI）数据和NCEP气象资料,在夏季风环流指数定义方法的基础上,重新定义了南亚区域冬季风环流指数,并分别计算了南亚夏季风和冬季风环流指数. 结合冬夏两季环流的强弱变化采用相关分析、合成分析和奇异值分解（Singular Value Decomposition, SVD）等方法,探讨了环流异常形势下臭氧的时空变化特征. 结果表明:①南亚夏季纬向环流与经向环流的强度变化存在一致性,冬季经向环流与纬向环流的强度变化差异较大. ②南亚臭氧柱总量的季节变化明显,且近13年来臭氧柱总量整体呈上升趋势. ③夏季（冬季）风环流指数与对流层中低（中高）层和平流层中低层臭氧的相关性显著,但夏季平流层和对流层的相关趋势相反. ④夏季风环流增强对应青藏高原?伊朗高原上空及南侧区域的上升运动增强,对臭氧的输送作用是造成对流层臭氧分布呈现差异的原因. ⑤冬季风环流强弱期的垂直上升和下沉运动中心的移动,以及南北向、东西向气流交汇区的差异是造成臭氧分布不同的原因.     

Stalagmite-inferred Holocene precipitation in northern Guizhou Province,China, and asynchronous termination of the Climatic Optimum in the Asian monsoon territory

An absolute-dated, bi-decadal-resolution, stalagmite oxygen-isotopic time series from Shigao Cave reveals the evolution of summer monsoon precipitation over the past 9.9 ka BP in northern Guizhou Province, Southwest China. The  18O-inferred climate conditions are divisible into three distinct stages: (1) a maximum humid era from 9.9-6.6 ka BP; (2) a gradual declining precipitation interval between 6.6-1.6 ka BP; and (3) a relatively low precipitation time window after 1.6 ka BP. Consistency of contemporaneous stalagmite Holocene 18O records between Shigao and other caves in the Indian and East Asian monsoon realms support the effect of primary orbital solar forcings on monsoonal precipitation. However, statistical analysis shows a significant spatial asynchroneity of the Holocene Optimum termination in the Asian monsoon territory. The Holocene Optimum ended at 7.2-7.4 ka BP in Oman, located in the Indian monsoon region, and at 5.6-5.8 ka BP in Central China, in the East Asian monsoon zone. In Southwest China, the termination occurred between these periods, at 6.6-7.0 ka BP, and was influenced by both monsoon systems. We propose that this spatially asynchronous ending of Holocene Optimum in Asia may be attributed to sea surface temperature changes in the western tropical Pacific, which is a primary moisture source for the East Asian monsoon.