Climatic changes documented by stable isotopes of sedimentary carbonate in Lake Sugan, northeastern Tibetan Plateau of China, since 2 kaBP

Lake Sugan at the northern edge of the Qaidam Basin was selected as the research object. The temporal sequence of sedimentary cores retrieved from Lake Sugan since 2 kaBP was reconstructed using the ^210Pb, AMS 14C and conventional 14C dating methods. Carbon and oxygen isotopes of carbonate in the fine-grained lake sediments were analysed. Combined with the changes of 8180 values of surface water and air temperature observation data in the study area, it might be thought that the δ^18O value of the carbonate indicates effective moisture, and the changes in δ^13C values are related to annual freeze-up duration of the lake and indirectly indicate air temperature changes in winter half year. From the above, the sequence of climatic changes in the region since 2 kaBP was established. The climatic changes experienced five stages： Warm-dry climate during 0-190 AD： cold-dry climate during 190-580 AD; warm-dry climate during 580-1200 AD （MWP）; cold-wet climate during 1200-1880 AD （LIA）; cold-dry climate during 1880-1950 AD： and climate warming since 1950s. The air temperature changes in winter half year reflected by carbon isotope since 2 kaBP are in good agreement with the historical literature records and other geologic records, which shows that the climate changes recorded by the stable isotopes from Lake Sugan since 2 kaBP are of universal significance.     

Quantitative reconstruction of the paleosalinity at Qinghai Lake in the past 900 years

Based on the function relationship between the shell length of Limnocythere inopinata and the salinity of its living water in Tibetan Plateau lakes, the paleosalinty of Qinghai Lake in the past 900 years was reconstructed through the measurement of the adult body length of Limnocythere inopinata. Meanwhile, the paleosalinity sequence of Qinghai Lake during the same period was rebuilt by the St/Ca ratio of the shell of Eucypris inflata combined with the St/Ca ratio of living ostracod valves from the species of genus Eucypris inflata and the host water. The paleosalinity results obtained by two different methods were compared and assessed in this paper. To check the result, it was also contrasted with other historical climatic sequences of this area including tree ring and ice core. It was shown that the paleosalinity sequence rebuilt by adult ostracod body length had high reliability, and the paleosalinity reconstruction method by trace elements of ostracod shells was not suitable for Qinghai Lake. From the reconstructed paleosalinty sequence of Qinghai Lake, it can be found that low salinity during 1160-1290 AD showed the humid climate condition on the Mediaeval Warm Period in this area, while the high salinity during 1410-1540 AD, 1610-1670 AD and 1770-1850 AD which was corresponding to the three cold pulses of the Little Ice Age with a dry climate condition. And the high salinity in the latest several decades was consistent with recent warm and dry trends of the climate in this area. The good consistency of the reconstructed palaeosalinity sequence and the precipitation sequence in this area rebuilt by tree ring proves the reconstruction of past lake salinity is reliable.     

Forced response of atmospheric oscillations during the last millennium simulated by a climate system model

Variations in global atmospheric oscillations during the last millennium are simulated using the climate system model FGOALS_gl. The model was driven by reconstructions of both natural forcing (solar variability and volcanic aerosol) and anthropogenic forcing (greenhouse gases and sulfate aerosol). The model results are compared against proxy reconstruction data. The reconstructed North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) was out of phase with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) in the last millennium. During the Medieval Warm Period (MWP), the NAO was strong while the PDO was weak. During the Little Ice Age (LIA), the NAO was weak while the PDO was strong. A La Niña-like state prevailed in the MWP, while an El Niño-like state dominated in the LIA. This phenomenon is particularly obvious in the 15th, 17th and 19th centuries. Analysis of the model output indicates that the NAO was generally positive during 1000?C1400 AD and negative during 1650?C1900 AD. There is a discrepancy between the simulation and reconstruction during 1400?C1650 AD. The simulated PDO generally varies in parallel with the reconstruction, which has a negative phase during the MWP and a positive phase during the LIA. The correlation coefficient between the reconstruction and simulation is 0.61, and the correlation is statistically significant at the 1% level. Neither the La Niña-like state of the MWP nor the El Niño-like state of the LIA is reproduced in the model. Both the reconstructed and the simulated Antarctic Oscillations had a negative phase in the early period of the last millennium and a positive phase in the late period of the last millennium. The Asian-Pacific Oscillation was generally strong during the WMP and weak during the LIA, and the correlation coefficient between the simulation and reconstruction is 0.50 for the period 1000?C1985 AD. The analysis suggests that the specified external forcings significantly affected the evolution of atmospheric oscillation during the last millennium.     

中国东部季风区小冰期干湿变化及影响机制

通过对已发表的中国东部季风区小冰期气候重建结果和全球不同气候模式的对比分析,探讨我国季风区小冰期的气候干湿响应模式.本文认为:中国季风区小冰期的干湿变化受到西伯利亚冷高压的影响,华北和东北受影响最大,而中部和南部季风区变化机制更为复杂;我国季风区的小冰期存在以秦岭淮河(约34°N)为大致分界的北部冷干和南部冷湿模式,这种模式在千年或更长的时间尺度上的存在性,需要更多高分辨率的古气候资料以及模拟数据进行探讨.     

Recent 2000-year geological records of mud in the inner shelf of the East China Sea and their climatic implications

AMS^14C dating and grain-size analysis for Core DD2, located at the north of the Yangtze River-derived mud off the Zhejiang-Fujian coasts in the inner shelf of the East China Sea, provide us a high-resolution grain-size distribution curve varying with depth and time. Data in the upper mud layer of Core DD2 indicate that there are at least 9 abrupt grain-size increasing in recent 2000 years, with each corresponding very well with the low-temperature events in Chinese history, which might result from the periodical strengthening of the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM), including the first-revealed maximum temperature lowering event at around 990 a BP. At the same time, the finer grain size section in Core DD2 agrees well with the Sui-Tang Warming Period (600--1000 a AD) defined previously by Zhu Kezhen, during which the climate had a warm, cold and warm fluctuation, with a dominated cooling period of 750-850 a AD. The Little Ice Age (LIA) can also be identified in the core. It starts around 1450 a AD and was followed by a subsequent cooling events at 1510, 1670 and 1840 a AD. Timing of these cold events revealed here still needs to be further verified owing to some current uncertainty of dating we used in this study.     

田洋玛珥湖中更新世以来磁化率特征及其环境意义

 对雷州半岛东南部的田洋玛珥湖TYC孔前40 m岩芯进行了研究,结果表明,磁化率与孢粉有很好的对应关系,因而磁化率值的高低变化能够作为该区气候环境变化的替代指标。沉积物磁化率与气候变化的关系为：磁化率的低值与气候暖湿对应;磁化率的高值则与气候寒冷或温凉相对应。中更新世以来,田洋玛珥湖气候环境演化经历了9个不同的阶段：346~301.4 kaBP,气候相对暖湿。301.4~248.8 kaBP,气候寒冷干燥。248.8~188.8 kaBP,气候相对暖湿。188.8~125.2 kaBP,气候寒冷干燥。125.2~69.3 kaBP,气候较为暖湿。69.3~40.43 kaBP,气候偏凉。40.43~25.5 kaBP,气候偏凉但较上阶段温度低,此时玛珥湖呈现出沼泽化过渡阶段。25.5~10.8 kaBP,气候寒冷干燥,玛珥湖干枯成为干玛珥湖。10.8 kaBP以来,由于后期人类活动对玛珥湖的改造,致使磁化率值不断升高。     

Rainfall and drought in equatorial east Africa during the past 1,100 years

Knowledge of natural long-term rainfall variability is essential for water-resource and land-use management in sub-humid regions of the world. In tropical Africa, data relevant to determining this variability are scarce because of the lack of long instrumental climate records and the limited potential of standard high-resolution proxy records such as tree rings and ice cores. Here we present a decade-scale reconstruction of rainfall and drought in equatorial east Africa over the past 1,100 years, based on lake-level and salinity fluctuations of Lake Naivasha (Kenya) inferred from three different palaeolimnological proxies: sediment stratigraphy and the species compositions of fossil diatom and midge assemblages. Our data indicate that, over the past millennium, equatorial east Africa has alternated between contrasting climate conditions, with significantly drier climate than today during the 'Medieval Warm Period' (approximately AD 1000-1270) and a relatively wet climate during the 'Little Ice Age' (approximately AD 1270-1850) which was interrupted by three prolonged dry episodes. We also find strong chronological links between the reconstructed history of natural long-term rainfall variation and the pre-colonial cultural history of east Africa, highlighting the importance of a detailed knowledge of natural long-term rainfall fluctuations for sustainable socio-economic development.     

Palaeoenvironmental changes from pollen record in deep sea core PC-1 from northern Okinawa Trough, East China Sea during the past 24 ka

A pollen record of core PC-1 from the northern Okinawa Trough, East China Sea （ECS）, provides information on vegetation and climate changes since 24 cal. kaBP. A total of 103 samples were palynologically analyzed at 8 cm intervals with a time resolution of 230 a. Four pollen zones are recognized： zone Ⅰ （812-715 cm, 24.2-21.1 cah kaBP）, zone Ⅱ （715-451 cm, 21.1-15.2 cah kaBP）, zone Ⅲ （451-251 cm, 15.2-0.8 cah kaBP）, zone Ⅳ （251-0 cm, 10.8-0.3 cal. kaBP）, corresponding to Late MIS 3, Last Glacial Maximum （LGM）, deglaciation and Holocene, respectively. The LGM is characterized by the dominance of herbs, mainly Artemisia, and high pollen influx, implying an open vegetation on the ex- posed continental shelf and a cool and dry climate. The deglaciation is a climate warming stage with Pinus percentage increased and Artemisia percentage decreased and a rapid sea-level rise. The Holocene is characterized by predominance of tree pollen with rapid increase in Castanea-Castanopsis indicating the development of mixed evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forest and a warm, humid climate. Low pollen influx during the Holocene probably implies submergence of the continental shelf and retreat of the pollen source area. The vegetation indicated by pollen assemblage found in this upper zone is consistent with the present vegetation found in Kyushu, Japan. Originating from the humid mountain area of North Luzon of the Philippines, Tasmania and New Zealand, Phyllocladus with sporadic occurrence throughout PC-1 core probably suggests the influence of Palaeo-Kuroshio Current or intense summer monsoon. The observed changes in Pinus and Herbs percentage indicate fluctuations of the sea level, and high Pinus percentage corresponds to high sea level. Spectrum analysis of the pollen percentage record reveals many millennial-scale periodicities, such as periodicities of 6.8, 3.8, 2.2, 1.6 ka.     

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…     

新疆巴里坤湖9.0 cal ka BP以来沉积物地球化学元素分布特征与古气候环境演化

根据中国西北干旱区巴里坤湖BLK-1剖面沉积物的地化元素分析,采用SPSS因子分析法提取了对沉积环境变化敏感的地化元素和氧化物组分.在R、Q型因子分析的基础上,结合沉积物的硅铁铝率(SiO2/(Al2O3+Fe2O3))、淋失系数(SiO2/(MgO+K2O))、CaO/MgO以及腐殖化度等指标,提取出古气候环境信息.初步研究结果表明:近9.0 cal ka BP以来,巴里坤湖地区气候环境仍以干旱化为主,全新世期间出现过多次不同程度的干湿变化,经历了5个气候阶段:9.0—7.5 cal ka BP期间,气候干旱;7.5—5.8 cal ka BP期间,气候温暖湿润,为研究区全新世最佳适宜期;5.8—3.0 cal ka BP期间,气候干旱;3.0—1.0 cal ka BP期间,气候湿润;1.0—0 cal ka BP期间,气候干旱.     

新疆巴里坤湖 9.0cal.ka BP来沉积物地球化学元素分布特征与古气候环境演化

根据中国西北干旱区巴里坤湖BLK-1剖面沉积物的地化元素分析,采用SPSS因子分析法提取了对沉积环境变化敏感的地化元素和氧化物组分. 在 R、Q 型因子分析的基础上,结合沉积物的硅铁铝率（SiO2/（Al2O3+Fe2O3））、淋失系数（SiO2/（MgO+K2O））、CaO/MgO以及腐殖化度等指标,提取出古气候环境信息. 初步研究结果表明:近9.0cal ka BP以来,巴里坤湖地区气候环境仍以干旱化为主,全新世期间出现过多次不同程度的干湿变化,经历了5个气候阶段:9.0～7.5cal kaBP期间,气候干旱;7.5～5.8cal kaBP期间,气候温暖湿润,为研究区全新世最佳适宜期;5.8～3.0cal kaBP期间,气候干旱;3.0～1.0cal kaBP期间,气候湿润;1.0～0cal kaBP期间,气候干旱.     

Pollen record and environmental evolution of Caotanhu wetland in Xinjiang since 4550 cal. a BP

This paper presents a multi-proxy reconstruction of the climate change in Caotanhu wetland using pollen, phytolith and charcoal records, and the data of loss of ignition （LOI）, grain size analysis, and susceptibility. Results reveal that between 4550 and 2500 cal. a BP, a dry climatic condition was not favorable for the accumulation of peat. Since 2500 cal. a BP, the climate became humid and the wetland developed with abundant freshwater aquatic plants, which contributed to peat accumulation. Never-theless, alternate periods of rain and dry climate occurred during that period. Between 2500 and 1810 cal. a BP （550 BC-140 AD）, the climate was more humid than at present. A lot of emerged plants, such as Phragmites, Typha and Sparganium, and freshwater green algae grew in the wetland which was sur-rounded by desert-steppe vegetation composed mainly of Chenopodiaceae, Artemisia, Compositae and Thalictrum. However, from 1810 to 1160 cal. a BP （140--790 AD）, the water level started to decrease and hydrophyte species reduced greatly, but some Phragmites still grew in the wetland and around it was desert vegetation with high proportion of Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia. Then from 1160 to 650 a BP （790--1300 AD）, it entered a period of desert-steppe with abundant mesic and xerophytic plants. And a lot of aquatic plants prevailed in the wetland. Here, what is noticeable is that percentages of arboreal pollen, consisting mainly of Betula and Picea, increased greatly and reached a maximal value of 27.2%, in which, Betula percentages rose to 23.2%. Hence, it is reasonable to conclude that Betula grew in the highland of the wetland, or Picea timberline shifted downward resulting in the increase of percentages of Betula and Picea pollen, which were transported into the wetland by flood or wind. But since 650 cal. a BP, desert vegetation prevailed around the wetland again with dominant Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia, and the climate was similar to modern one. Despite some aquatic plants still growing in the wetland at     

Late Glacial and Holocene vegetation history and paleoclimate of the Tengger Desert,northwestern China

With a total area of 36000 km2, the Tengger Desert is the fourth largest desert in China. The Qilian Mountains demarcate the southwestern boundary of the desert andthe Helan Mountain on the east separates the desert from the Mo Us Desert. The Yabulai Mountain on thenorthwest borders the Tengger Desert and the BadainJaran Desert and the Loess Plateau touch its southern tip (Fig. 1). Climatically, the area is situated at the junction of the hyper-arid northwest, the arid to semi-arid sou…     

Sea surface temperature variations recorded on coralline Sr／Ca ratios during Mid-Late Holocene in Leizhou Peninsula

High-resolution Sr/Ca ratios of two Porites corals from Leizhou Peninsula were measured using inductively coupled plasma atomic spectrometry (ICP-AES). TIMS U-Th dating reveals that the life-spans of the two corals are 489-500 AD and 539-530 BC, respectively. Monthly sea surface temperatures (SSTs) during these two periods can be reconstructed from their skeletal Sr/Ca ratios. The results reveal that SSTs during 539-530 BC were roughly the same as those during 1990-2000 AD in this area, indicating a relative warm climate period. However, the period of 489-500 AD was significantly cooler, with annual mean SST, the 10-a average of minimum monthly winter SSTs and the 10-a average of maximum monthly summer SSTs being about 2, 2.9 and 1℃ lower than that in the 1990s, respectively. Such climate patterns agree well with the phenological results recorded in the historic documents in other areas of China.     

A high-resolution climatic chanse since Holocene inferred from multi-proxy of lake sediment in westerly area of China

Multi-proxy data are presented and a discuss is made of paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes during Holocene from a 225-cm-long sediment core from Wulungu Lake, located in westerly area of China. The chronology is constructed from six AMS radiocarbon dates on the bulk organic matter. Analyses of pollen, TOC, TN, δ^13Corg, ostracod assemblages and the shell stable isotopes, suggest Holocene climate pattern as follows： temperate and dry （10.0-7.6 cal. ka BP） -warm and wet （7.6-5.3 cal. ka BP） -warm and moist （5.3-3.6 cal. ka BP） -temperate and dry （3.6-2.1 cal. ka BP）-temperate and moist （2.1-1.3 cal. ka BP） -cool and dry （1.3 cal. ka BP-present）. With the climatic change, Wulungu Lake experienced two large-scale retreat （5.3-3.6 cal. ka BP and 1.3 cal. ka BP-present） and an obvious transgression （7.6-5.3 cal. ka BP）. The records of climatic and environmental evolution of Wulungu Lake were in good accordance with those of adjacent areas. It responded to regional environmental change, global abrupt climate events and followed the westerly climate change mode.     

太湖平原中石器,新石器时代人类文化的发展与环境

本文主要研究太湖平原中石器、新石器时代人类文化的产生、发展与地理环境的关系。旧石器时代末期,太湖平原气候凉干,为森林、草原环境。古人类以采集、狩猎为生,穴居于洞穴之中。新石器时代早期,太湖平原气候暖湿,人类开始以农业生产和渔猎为生,在平原地区建聚落。新石器时代晚期气候转凉干,人类开始挖井取水,农业生产发展,手工业生产随着发展。     

Modeling spatial and temporal variations in soil moisture in China

On the basis of station observations, an atmospheric field (ObsFC) was constructed for the Community Land Model version 3.5 (CLM3.5). The model (CLM3.5 driven with ObsFC, hereafter referred as to CLM3.5/ObsFC) was used to simulate soil moisture (SM) from 1951 to 2008 in China. The resulting SM was compared with in situ observations, remote-sensing data and estimations made by various land models, indicating that CLM3.5/ObsFC is capable of reproducing the temporospatial characteristics and long-term variation trends of SM over China. Using an in situ observation-based forcing field improves the simulation of SM. Analysis of SM simulated using CLM3.5/ObsFC shows that the overall spatial pattern of SM was characterized by a gradually decreasing and alternating distribution of arid-humid zones from the southeast to northwest. Regionally averaged SM was the driest over southern Xinjiang Province and western Inner Mongolia, while the most humid regions were located over the Northeast Plain, Jianghuai region and the Yangtze River basin. The long-term variation trends of SM were generally characterized by increases in arid and humid regions and decreases in semiarid regions. Moreover, the variation was relatively intense from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s in the arid region. The time series was more stable in the humid region except for a period near 1970 and after the year 2003. A downward trend was most prominent in the semiarid region from the 1990s to the end of the time series. For 1951–2008, in the arid, semiarid and humid regions, the SM volume percentage changed by 2.35, −1.26 and 0.08, respectively. The variation trends and intensity remarkably differed among the different regions, with the most notable changes being over the arid and semiarid regions north of 35°N.     

Asian-Pacific Oscillation index and variation of East Asian summer monsoon over the past millennium

To study the long-term variation of the East Asian summer monsoon （EASM）, the Asian-Pacific Oscillation index （IAPO）, representing a zonal thermal contrast between Asia and the North Pacific, is reconstructed over the past millennium. During the Little Ice Age （LIA）, the variability of the reconstructed IAPO is closely linked to dry-wet anomalies in eastern China on the centennial scale. This correlation pattern is consistent with the observation during the current period, which suggests that the reconstructed IAPO may generally represent the centennial-scale variation of the EASM and rainfall anomalies over eastern China during the LIA.     

太白山西佛爷池沉积物有机碳、氮同位素记录的过去1800多年的气候-环境变化

在秦岭主峰太白山南坡的冰蚀湖西佛爷池中取得一个深50cm 的沉积物柱芯(XFYC12-2)。对XFYC12-2的样品做加速器质谱(AMS) ¹⁴C 测年和有机碳、氮稳定同位素分析, 并据此重建这一高山湖泊周边过去1800多年的气候−环境变化。结果表明: 1811~1380 (或1440) aBP 偏冷干; 1380 (或1440)~840 aBP 温暖湿润, 这一阶段可能与中世纪暖期相当; 840~460 (或 520) aBP 转为寒冷干旱, 这一阶段或许相当于小冰期; 460(或 520)~100 aBP 又趋暖湿。上述气候?环境变化过程与太白山南坡高海拔地段另外两个湖附近的变化过程、中国东部地区的总体变化趋势及4 个代表性地点的变化过程相似。     

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.