Preliminary evidence indicating Dome A （Antarctica） satisfying preconditions for drilling the oldest ice core

Lowest temperature and snow accumulation rate are preconditions for retrieving the oldest ice core from the polar ice sheets. The 10-m depth firn temperature at Dome A, the summit of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, recorded by an automatic weather station （AWS） was -58.3℃ in 2005 and -58.2℃ in 2006, respectively. The 10-m firn temperature is an approximation of the annual mean air temperature （AMAT）, and this is the lowest AMAT that has been recorded on the surface of the Earth. The stable isotopic ratios （δ^18O and δD） of surface snow at Dome A are also lower than at other ice sheet domes along the East Antarctic Ice Divide such as Dome C, Dome F, Dome B and Vostok. These facts indicate that Dome A is the ＂pole of cold＂ on the Earth. The total amount of snow accumulation rate in 2005 and 2006 was only 0.16 cm, equaling 0.016 m water equivalent per year, the lowest precipitation ever recorded from Antarctica. Preliminary evidences indicate that Dome A is a candidate site for recovering the oldest ice core.     

A new type of ice formation zone found in the Himalayas

Ice formation was studied on the Dasuopu Glacier located in the Mount Xixabangma (28°23′ N, 85°43'E) in the Himalayas. Snow pits and shallow ice cores are analyzed to reveal ice formation process. The results show that the ice formation process, or in other words, the process of densitifica-tion, on the col (7 000 m a.s. I.) of the Dasuopu Glacier is a stable, slow and gradual process. The snow-ice transformation on the glacier is estimated to be 30-40 m below the surface. The temperature on the Dasuopu Glacier is very low (～ - 14℃ at 10 m) and similar to that in polar type ice cap. We, therefore, speculate that the process of snow-ice transformation is undertaken under snow pressure, and that there is a percolation zone on the Dasuopu Glacier. The high altitude of the col and monsoon snow fall accompnied by heavy cloud and high albedo favorite the percolation zone formation.     

The test freezing temperature of C2―C6 dicarboxylic acid: The important indicator for ice nucleation processes

The importance of organic compounds as significant constituents of atmospheric aerosols, and cloud condensation nuclei （CCN）, as well as players influencing the tropospheric oxidation and atmospheric energy budget, have been increasingly recognized. Low molecular weight dicarboxylic acids （LMW-DCAs） are significant identified portions of atmospheric condensed matter including aerosols, fog and clouds. Besides the photochemical transformation of DCA, the implication of organic matter in ice nucleation processes has been considered. In this study, we investigated the freezing temperature of pure and mixed （C2-C6） DCA solutions in ultra-pure water and tap water solution droplets using a freezing nucleus counter at different pH, and in different water ionic conditions. The mean freezing temperature of different mixture of LMW-DCA in ultra-pure and tap water solution droplets ranged from -24.1±2.8 to -21.3±3.9℃ and -10.2±2.2 to -9.5±2.2℃, respectively. The mean freezing temperature of the control （ultra-pure and tap） water droplets （-22.6±3.5℃, 11.2±2.4℃） was also measured. The results, and their implications in atmospheric chemistry and physics of the atmosphere will be discussed.     

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.     

Novel high PSRR current reference based on subthreshold MOSFETs

This paper takes full advantages of the I-V transconductance characteristics of metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor （MOSFET） operating in the subthreshold region and the enhancement pre-regulator technique with the high gain negative feedback loop. The proposed reference circuit, designed with the SMIC 0.18 μm standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor （CMOS） logic process technology, exhibits a stable current of about 1.701 μA with much low temperature coefficient （TC） of 2.5×10^-4μA/℃ in the temperature range of-40 to 150℃ at 1.5 V supply voltage, and also achieves a best PSRR over a broad frequency. The PSRR is about - 126 dB at DC frequency and remains -92 dB at the frequency higher 100 MHz. Moreover the proposed reference circuit operates stably at the supply voltage higher 1.2 V and has good process compatibility.     

Influence of post-annealing on the properties of Ta-doped In<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> transparent conductive films

Ta-doped In₂O₃ transparent conductive oxide films were deposited on glass substrates using radio-frequency (RF) sputtering at 300°C. The influence of post-annealing on the structural, morphologic, electrical and optical properties of the films was investigated using X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Hall measurements and optical transmission spectroscopy. The obtained films were polycrystalline with a cubic structure and were preferentially oriented in the (222) crystallographic direction. The lowest resistivity, 5.1×10⁻⁴ Ω cm, was obtained in the film annealed at 500°C, which is half of that of the un-annealed film (9.9×10⁻⁴ Ω cm). The average optical transmittance of the films was over 90%. The optical bandgap was found to decrease with increasing annealing temperature.     

Temperature dependent spectral response characteristic of III-V compound tandem cell

The GaInP/GaAs/Ge triple-junction tandem cells with a conversion efficiency of 27.1% were fabricated using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. Temperature dependence of the spectral response measurements of the GaInP/GaAs/Ge tandem cell was performed by a quantum effi-ciency system at temperatures ranging from 25℃ to 160℃. The red-shift phenomena of the absorption limit for all subcells were observed with increasing temperature, which is dued to the energy gap nar-rowing with temperature. The short-circuit current densities (J_sc)of GaInP, GaAs and Ge subcells at room temperature calculated based on the spectral response data were 12.9, 13.7 and 17 mA/cm², re-spectively. The temperature coefficient of J_sc for the tandem cell was determined to be 8.9 mA/(cm²·℃), and the corresponding temperature coefficient of the open-circuit voltage deduced from the se-ries-connected model was -6.27 mV/℃.     

Precipitation variability in central Himalayas and its relation to Northern Hemisphere temperature

Agriculture, industry and hydroelectric power in south Asia are heavily dependent on the performance of the summer (June to September) monsoon rainfall, which provides 75—90% of the annual rainwater over most parts of the area. A weak monsoon year generally corresponds to low crop yields. And strong monsoon usually produces abundant crops, although too much rainfall may produce devastating floods. However, modeling efforts to forecast the monsoon have met with only moderate success[1]. Prev…     

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…     

High-temperature mechanical properties and deformation behavior of high Nb containing TiAl alloys fabricated by spark plasma sintering

A high Nb containing TiAl alloy was prepared from the pre-alloyed powder of Ti-45Al-8.5Nb-0.2B-0.2W-0.02Y (at%) by spark plasma sintering (SPS). Its high-temperature mechanical properties and compressive deformation behavior were investigated in a temperature range of 700 to 1050℃ and a strain rate range of 0.002 to 0.2 s-1. The results show that the high-temperature mechanical properties of the high Nb containing TiAl alloy are sensitive to deformation temperature and strain rate, and the sensitivity to strain rate tends to rise with the deformation temperature increasing. The hot workability of the alloy is good at temperatures higher than 900℃, while fracture occurs at lower temperatures. The flow curves of the samples compressed at or above 900℃ exhibit obvious flow softening after the peak stress. Under the deformation condition of 900-1050℃ and 0.002-0.2 s-1, the interrelations of peak flow stress, strain rate, and deformation temperature follow the Arrhenius' equation modified by a hyperbolic sine function with a stress exponent of 5.99 and an apparent activation energy of 441.2 kJ·mol-1.     

Deformation behavior and microstructure of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr alloy during hot deformation

The hot deformation behavior and microstructures of Al-7055 commercial alloy were investigated by axisymmetric hot compression at temperatures ranging from 300℃ to 450℃ and strain rates from 10-2 to 10 s-1, respectively. Microstructures of deformed 7055 alloy were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The dependence of peak stress on deformation temperature and strain rate can be expressed by the hyperbolic-sine type equation. The hot deformation activation energy of the alloy is 146 kJ/mol. Moreover, the flow stress curves predicted by the modified constitutive equations are reasonably consistent with the experimental results, which confirms that the proposed deformation constitutive equations can provide evidence for the selection of hot forming parameters. TEM results indicate that dynamic recovery is the main softening mechanism during hot deformation.     

Temperature dependence of densities of Sb and Bi melts

The densities of Sb and Bi melts were investigated by an improved Archimedean method. The results show that the density of the Sb melt decreases linearly with increasing temperature,but the density of the Bi melt firstly increases and then decreases as the temperature increases. There is a maximum density value of 10.002 g/cm3 at 310 ℃ ,about 39℃ above the melting point. The temperature depend-ence of the Sb melt is well fitted with the expression ρ =6.8590-5.8105×10-4T,and that of the Bi melt is fitted with ρ =10.3312-1.18×10-3T. The results were discussed from a microstructure viewpoint.     

Vp of muscovite-biotite gneiss up to 950℃ at 400 MPa: Constraints on the origin of abnormal seismic layers in continental crust

Here we present experimental results of compressional wave velocity (Vp) of muscovite-biotite gneiss from Higher Himalayan Crystallines (HHC) at the temperature up to 950℃ and the pressure of 0.1―400 MPa. At 400 MPa, when the temperature is lower than 600℃, Vp decreases linearly with increasing temperature at the rate of (Vp/T)p -4.43×10-4 km/s ℃. In the temperature range of 600―800℃, Vp drops significantly and the signal is degraded gradually due to the dehydration of muscovite and α-quartz softening. When the temperature rises from 800℃ to 875℃, Vp increases and the signals become clear again as a result of the temperature going through the β-quartz range. The experiments indicate that the duration has great influence on the experimental results when temperature is above the dehydration point of biotite. During the first 30 h at 950℃, the Vp decreases substantially from 5.9 to 5.4 km/s and the signal amplitude is attenuated by more than 80%. After the 30-h transition, the Vp and the amplitude of ultrasonic wave signals become steady. The decrease of Vp and attenuation of the signals at 950℃ are associated with the breakdown reactions of biotite. The experiments suggest that the breakdown of muscovite and/or quartz softening can contribute to the low seismic wave velocity in thickened quartz-rich felsic-crust such as what is beneath southern Tibet. Additionally, α-β quartz transition generates a measurable high seismic velocity zone, which provides a possibility of precisely constraining the temperature in the upper-middle continental crust. Our study also demonstrates that duration is a key factor to obtain credible experimental results.     

Heat driven refrigeration cycle at low temperatures

Absorption refrigeration cycle can be driven by low-grade thermal energy, such as solar energy, geothermal energy and waste heat. It is beneficial to save energy and protect environment. However, the applications of traditional absorption refrigeration cycle are greatly restricted because they cannot achieve low refrigeration temperature. A new absorption refrigeration cycle is investigated in this paper, which is driven by low-grade energy and can get deep low refrigeration temperature. The mixture refrigerant R23 R134a and an absorbent DMF are used as its working fluid. The theoretical results indicate that the new cyde can achieve -62℃ refrigeration temperature when the generation temperature is only 160℃. This refrigeration temperature is much lower than that obtained by traditional absorption refrigeration cycle. Refrigeration temperature of -47.3℃ has been successfully achieved by experiment for this new cycle at the generation temperature of 157~C, which is the lowest temperature obtained by absorption refrigeration system reported in the literature up to now. The theoretical and experimental results prove that new cycle can achieve rather low refrigeration temperature.     

Retrogression characteristics of a novel Al-Cu-Li-X alloy

Retrogression characteristics of a novel Al-Cu-Li-X alloy of 2A97 were studied by hardness testing, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The retrogression treatments of aging at 155℃ for 12 h followed by aging at 220 and 240℃ were chosen by determining the peak temperature of δ' precipitation at 230℃ by DSC. The retrogression treatment at a lower temperature of 220℃ causes the precipitation and coarsening of δ' and θ' phases in the matrix, resulting in an increase in hardness. Retrogression at a higher temperature of 240℃ causes the dissolution and coarsening of δ' and θ' precipitates in the matrix and on the grain boundaries, resulting in a decrease in hardness. Microstructural changes upon retrogression including the appearance of equilibrium precipitates such as T₁, T₂, δ', and θ are confirmed by the selected area electron diffraction and the bright and dark field image analysis.     

Regenerating plants from cryopreserved adventitious buds of haploids in rice

A large number of adventitious buds were induced fromin vitro cultured young inflorescences of haploids of rice. Having been subcultured on solidified subculture media at 26°C for 7 days, the adventitious buds were loaded into 1.8 mL plastic cryotubes with cryoprotectant and kept on ice for 45–60 min. After cooled at a rate of 1.0°C/min down to −40°C, the samples, were kept in liquid nitrogen. The adventitious buds which have been cryopreserved for about 30 days were thawed rapidly in 38–40°C water and then plated on solidified MS medium containing 3% sucrose, 0.5 mg/L NAA and 2.0 mg/L kinetin. After plated, 23%–32% of adventitious buds resumed growth and 15%–22% regenerated plantlets. The results of this work indicated that the adventitious buds derived fromin vitro cultured young inflorescences is a critical factor for the success and subculturing adventitious buds on MS medium containing 3% sucrose and 4% sorbitol or 20% potato extract is essential to the procedure. The effective cryoprotectant is 10% DMSO (dimethyl sulfoximide)+0.5 mol/L sorbitol. Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province Zhang Zhihong: born in 1963, Lecturer     

Export and remineralization of POM in the Southern Ocean and the South China Sea estimated from 210Po/210Pb disequilibria

Disequilibria between ^210Po and ^210Pb in the upper water and their potential applications as a proxy of particle export and remineralization were examined in the Southern Ocean （station IV3） and the South China Sea （NS44）. ^210po was deficit in surface waters but excessive relative to ^210Pb in subsurface waters. Good positive correlation between ^210Po and particulate organic carbon （POC） indicated deficits and excess of ^210Po resulted from particulate organic matter （POM） export and remJneralization respectively, which was also supported by the decreased δ^13C and increased δ^15N downwards as a result of particle remineralization. On the basis of ^210Po/^210Pb box-model, POC export flux out of the surface waters were 1.2 mmol C. m^-2. d^-1 and 2.3 mmol C. m^-2. d^-1 for station NS44 and IV3, respectively. In the subsurface waters, remineralization fluxes of ^210Po were 0.062 Bq. m^-2.d^-1 and 0.566 Bq.m^-2.d^-1 for station NS44 and IV3 along with the recycle efficiency of 52±26% and 119±52%, respectively. Remineralized fluxes of POM derived from ^210Po and exported POC were 0.6 mmol C.m^-2.d^-1 and 2.7 mmol C. m^-2. d^-1 for NS44 and IV3. This study suggested that ^210Po was a powerful tracer of particle export and remineralization.     

Recent temperature increase recorded in an ice core in the source region of Yangtze River

Interests on climate change in the source region of Yangtze River have been raised since it is a region with the greatest warming over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). A 70-year history of precipitation δ~(18)O has been recovered using an ice core record retrieved in a plat portion of the firn area in the Guoqu Glacier (33°34′37.8″N, 91°10′35.3″E, 5720 m a.s.l.), Mt. Geladaindong (the source region of Yangtze River), in November, 2005. By using a significant positive relationship between ice core δ~(18)O record and summer air temperature (July to September) from the nearby meteorological stations, a history of summer air temperature has been reconstructed for the last 70 years. Summer temperature was relatively low in 1940s and high in 1950s to the middle of 1960s. The lowest temperature occurred in the middle of 1970s. Temperature was low in 1980s and dramatically increased since 1990s, keeping the trend to the begin-ning of the 21st century. The warming rate recorded in the ice core with 0.5℃/10 a since 1970s is much higher that that in the central TP and the Northern Hemisphere (NH), and it becomes 1.1℃/10 a since 1990s which is also higher than these from the central TP and the NH, reflecting an accelerated warm-ing and a more sensitive response to global warming in the high elevation region.     

2008年初贵州电线积冰厚度的模拟研究—基于天气研究和预报（WRF）模式耦合电线积冰预报系统

电线积冰事故对国民经济危害巨大,急需电线积冰厚度的预报产品。利用耦合了欧洲导线覆冰预报系统的WRF模式,在考虑了覆冰融化的基础上,对2008年1~2月贵州省凝冻天气期间的电线覆冰厚度进行了模拟研究,研究结果表明：WRF模式模拟的气象要素与观测值较为接近,可用模拟的气象场对贵州省导线覆冰进行模拟;模拟站点覆冰厚度的时间变化特征与观测结果非常接近,区域覆冰厚度的时空变化可分为4个阶段：覆冰初步形成期、持续期、加重期及融化期。对比观测站点的覆冰记录,模拟基本重现2008年1~2月贵州省导线覆冰的变化过程;模拟的区域覆冰极值厚度分布也与观测值的相关系数达到0.6,通过了0.01的信度检验。总的来说,该系统能对覆冰的发生、发展及进程进行较为准确的预报,对输电线路上的冰冻灾害防治具有重要意义。     

A novel advanced oxidation process――wet electro-catalytic oxidation for high concentrated organic wastewater treatment

A novel advanced oxidation process——wet electrocatalytic oxidation (WEO) was studied with p-nitrophenol as model pollutant and β-PbO2 electrode as the anode. Compared with the effect of the individual wet air oxidation (WAO) and electrochemical oxidation (EO), the effect of WEO showed syn- ergistic effect on COD removal under the conditions of temperature 160℃, C=1000 mg·L-1, PN2=0.50 MPa, PO2=0.9 MPa, current density = 3 mA·cm-2, Na2SO4 3 g·L-1. And the synergistic factor got the best value of 0.98 within 120 min after 180 min treatment. The synergistic factor was studied after 120 min treatment at 100℃, 120℃, 140℃ and 160℃, and the effect of 120℃ was the best with the value of 1.26. Possible mechanism for the synergistic effect was discussed based on the analysis of free-radical generation and intermediates detected by HPLC and GC/MS.