Modelled atmospheric temperatures and global sea levels over the past million years

Marine records of sediment oxygen isotope compositions show that the Earth's climate has gone through a succession of glacial and interglacial periods during the past million years. But the interpretation of the oxygen isotope records is complicated because both isotope storage in ice sheets and deep-water temperature affect the recorded isotopic composition. Separating these two effects would require long records of either sea level or deep-ocean temperature, which are currently not available. Here we use a coupled model of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets and ocean temperatures, forced to match an oxygen isotope record for the past million years compiled from 57 globally distributed sediment cores, to quantify both contributions simultaneously. We find that the ice-sheet contribution to the variability in oxygen isotope composition varied from ten per cent in the beginning of glacial periods to sixty per cent at glacial maxima, suggesting that strong ocean cooling preceded slow ice-sheet build-up. The model yields mutually consistent time series of continental mean surface temperatures between 40 and 80 degrees N, ice volume and global sea level. We find that during extreme glacial stages, air temperatures were 17 +/- 1.8 degrees C lower than present, with a 120 +/- 10 m sea level equivalent of continental ice present.     

Stable sea surface temperatures in the western Pacific warm pool over the past 1.75 million years

About 850,000 years ago, the period of the glacial cycles changed from 41,000 to 100,000 years. This mid-Pleistocene climate transition has been attributed to global cooling, possibly caused by a decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. However, evidence for such cooling is currently restricted to the cool upwelling regions in the eastern equatorial oceans, although the tropical warm pools on the western side of the ocean basins are particularly sensitive to changes in radiative forcing. Here we present high-resolution records of sea surface temperatures spanning the past 1.75 million years, obtained from oxygen isotopes and Mg/Ca ratios in planktonic foraminifera from the western Pacific warm pool. In contrast with the eastern equatorial regions, sea surface temperatures in the western Pacific warm pool are relatively stable throughout the Pleistocene epoch, implying little long-term change in the tropical net radiation budget. Our results challenge the hypothesis of a gradual decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations as a dominant trigger of the longer glacial cycles since 850,000 years ago. Instead, we infer that the temperature contrast across the equatorial Pacific Ocean increased, which might have had a significant influence on the mid-Pleistocene climate transition.     

Geological constraints on tidal dissipation and dynamical ellipticity of the Earth over the past three million years

The evolution of the Solar System has been shown to be chaotic, which limits our ability to retrace the orbital and precessional motion of the Earth over more than 35-50 Myr (ref. 2). Moreover, the precession, obliquity and insolation parameters can also be influenced by secular variations in the tidal dissipation and dynamical ellipticity of the Earth induced by glacial cyclicity and mantle convection. Here we determine the average values of these dissipative effects over the past three million years. We have computed the optimal fit between an exceptional palaeoclimate record from the eastern Mediterranean Sea and a model of the astronomical and insolation history by testing a number of values for the tidal dissipation and dynamical ellipticity parameters. We find that the combined effects of dynamical ellipticity and tidal dissipation were, on average, significantly lower over the past three million years, compared to their present-day values (determined from artificial satellite data and lunar ranging). This secular variation associated with the Plio-Pleistocene ice load history has caused an average acceleration in the Earth's rotation over the past 3 Myr, which needs to be considered in the construction of astronomical timescales and in research into the stationarity of phase relations in the ocean-climate system through time.     

Woody cover and hominin environments in the past 6 million years

The role of African savannahs in the evolution of early hominins has been debated for nearly a century. Resolution of this issue has been hindered by difficulty in quantifying the fraction of woody cover in the fossil record. Here we show that the fraction of woody cover in tropical ecosystems can be quantified using stable carbon isotopes in soils. Furthermore, we use fossil soils from hominin sites in the Awash and Omo-Turkana basins in eastern Africa to reconstruct the fraction of woody cover since the Late Miocene epoch (about 7 million years ago). (13)C/(12)C ratio data from 1,300 palaeosols at or adjacent to hominin sites dating to at least 6 million years ago show that woody cover was predominantly less than ～40% at most sites. These data point to the prevalence of open environments at the majority of hominin fossil sites in eastern Africa over the past 6 million years.     

Southern Ocean dust-climate coupling over the past four million years

Dust has the potential to modify global climate by influencing the radiative balance of the atmosphere and by supplying iron and other essential limiting micronutrients to the ocean. Indeed, dust supply to the Southern Ocean increases during ice ages, and 'iron fertilization' of the subantarctic zone may have contributed up to 40?parts per million by volume (p.p.m.v.) of the decrease (80-100 p.p.m.v.) in atmospheric carbon dioxide observed during late Pleistocene glacial cycles. So far, however, the magnitude of Southern Ocean dust deposition in earlier times and its role in the development and evolution of Pleistocene glacial cycles have remained unclear. Here we report a high-resolution record of dust and iron supply to the Southern Ocean over the past four million years, derived from the analysis of marine sediments from ODP Site 1090, located in the Atlantic sector of the subantarctic zone. The close correspondence of our dust and iron deposition records with Antarctic ice core reconstructions of dust flux covering the past 800,000 years (refs 8, 9) indicates that both of these archives record large-scale deposition changes that should apply to most of the Southern Ocean, validating previous interpretations of the ice core data. The extension of the record beyond the interval covered by the Antarctic ice cores reveals that, in contrast to the relatively gradual intensification of glacial cycles over the past three million years, Southern Ocean dust and iron flux rose sharply at the Mid-Pleistocene climatic transition around 1.25 million years ago. This finding complements previous observations over late Pleistocene glacial cycles, providing new evidence of a tight connection between high dust input to the Southern Ocean and the emergence of the deep glaciations that characterize the past one million years of Earth history.     

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations over the past 60 million years

Knowledge of the evolution of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations throughout the Earth's history is important for a reconstruction of the links between climate and radiative forcing of the Earth's surface temperatures. Although atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations in the early Cenozoic era (about 60 Myr ago) are widely believed to have been higher than at present, there is disagreement regarding the exact carbon dioxide levels, the timing of the decline and the mechanisms that are most important for the control of CO2 concentrations over geological timescales. Here we use the boron-isotope ratios of ancient planktonic foraminifer shells to estimate the pH of surface-layer sea water throughout the past 60 million years, which can be used to reconstruct atmospheric CO2 concentrations. We estimate CO2 concentrations of more than 2,000 p.p.m. for the late Palaeocene and earliest Eocene periods (from about 60 to 52 Myr ago), and find an erratic decline between 55 and 40 Myr ago that may have been caused by reduced CO2 outgassing from ocean ridges, volcanoes and metamorphic belts and increased carbon burial. Since the early Miocene (about 24 Myr ago), atmospheric CO2 concentrations appear to have remained below 500 p.p.m. and were more stable than before, although transient intervals of CO2 reduction may have occurred during periods of rapid cooling approximately 15 and 3 Myr ago.     

Ocean circulation and climate during the past 120,000 years

Oceans cover more than two-thirds of our blue planet. The waters move in a global circulation system, driven by subtle density differences and transporting huge amounts of heat. Ocean circulation is thus an active and highly nonlinear player in the global climate game. Increasingly clear evidence implicates ocean circulation in abrupt and dramatic climate shifts, such as sudden temperature changes in Greenland on the order of 5-10 degrees C and massive surges of icebergs into the North Atlantic Ocean --events that have occurred repeatedly during the last glacial cycle.     

Geomagnetic dipole strength and reversal rate over the past two million years

Independent records of relative magnetic palaeointensity from sediment cores in different areas of the world can be stacked together to extract the evolution of the geomagnetic dipole moment and thus provide information regarding the processes governing the geodynamo. So far, this procedure has been limited to the past 800,000 years (800 kyr; ref. 3), which does not include any geomagnetic reversals. Here we present a composite curve that shows the evolution of the dipole moment during the past two million years. This reconstruction is in good agreement with the absolute dipole moments derived from volcanic lavas, which were used for calibration. We show that, at least during this period, the time-averaged field was higher during periods without reversals but the amplitude of the short-term oscillations remained the same. As a consequence, few intervals of very low intensity, and thus fewer instabilities, are expected during periods with a strong average dipole moment, whereas more excursions and reversals are expected during periods of weak field intensity. We also observe that the axial dipole begins to decay 60-80 kyr before reversals, but rebuilds itself in the opposite direction in only a few thousand years.     

Constant elevation of southern Tibet over the past 15 million years

The uplift of the Tibetan plateau, an area that is 2,000 km wide, to an altitude of about 5,000 m has been shown to modify global climate and to influence monsoon intensity. Mechanical and thermal models for homogeneous thickening of the lithosphere make specific predictions about uplift rates of the Tibetan plateau, but the precise history of the uplift of the plateau has yet to be confirmed by observations. Here we present well-preserved fossil leaf assemblages from the Namling basin, southern Tibet, dated to approximately 15 Myr ago, which allow us to reconstruct the temperatures within the basin at that time. Using a numerical general circulation model to estimate moist static energy at the location of the fossil leaves, we reconstruct the elevation of the Namling basin 15 Myr ago to be 4,689 +/- 895 m or 4,638 +/- 847 m, depending on the reference data used. This is comparable to the present-day altitude of 4,600 m. We conclude that the elevation of the southern Tibetan plateau probably has remained unchanged for the past 15 Myr.     

Climate sensitivity constrained by CO2 concentrations over the past 420 million years

A firm understanding of the relationship between atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and temperature is critical for interpreting past climate change and for predicting future climate change. A recent synthesis suggests that the increase in global-mean surface temperature in response to a doubling of the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, termed 'climate sensitivity', is between 1.5 and 6.2 degrees C (5-95 per cent likelihood range), but some evidence is inconsistent with this range. Moreover, most estimates of climate sensitivity are based on records of climate change over the past few decades to thousands of years, when carbon dioxide concentrations and global temperatures were similar to or lower than today, so such calculations tend to underestimate the magnitude of large climate-change events and may not be applicable to climate change under warmer conditions in the future. Here we estimate long-term equilibrium climate sensitivity by modelling carbon dioxide concentrations over the past 420 million years and comparing our calculations with a proxy record. Our estimates are broadly consistent with estimates based on short-term climate records, and indicate that a weak radiative forcing by carbon dioxide is highly unlikely on multi-million-year timescales. We conclude that a climate sensitivity greater than 1.5 degrees C has probably been a robust feature of the Earth's climate system over the past 420 million years, regardless of temporal scaling.     

Reconstructed changes in Arctic sea ice over the past 1,450 years

Arctic sea ice extent is now more than two million square kilometres less than it was in the late twentieth century, with important consequences for the climate, the ocean and traditional lifestyles in the Arctic. Although observations show a more or less continuous decline for the past four or five decades, there are few long-term records with which to assess natural sea ice variability. Until now, the question of whether or not current trends are potentially anomalous has therefore remained unanswerable. Here we use a network of high-resolution terrestrial proxies from the circum-Arctic region to reconstruct past extents of summer sea ice, and show that-although extensive uncertainties remain, especially before the sixteenth century-both the duration and magnitude of the current decline in sea ice seem to be unprecedented for the past 1,450 years. Enhanced advection of warm Atlantic water to the Arctic seems to be the main factor driving the decline of sea ice extent on multidecadal timescales, and may result from nonlinear feedbacks between sea ice and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. These results reinforce the assertion that sea ice is an active component of Arctic climate variability and that the recent decrease in summer Arctic sea ice is consistent with anthropogenically forced warming.     

Homogeneous climate variability across East Antarctica over the past three glacial cycles

Recent ice core studies have raised the disturbing possibility that glacial-interglacial climate changes may be non-uniform across Antarctica. These findings have been confined to records from the Ross Sea sector of the continent, but significant deviations in other areas would call into question the widely assumed validity of the climate record obtained from Vostok, East Antarctica, on large spatial scales. Here we present an isotopic profile from a core drilled at Dome Fuji, situated 1,500 km from Vostok in a different sector of East Antarctica. The two records show remarkable similarities over the past three glacial cycles (the extent of the Dome Fuji record) in both large-amplitude changes, such as terminations, interglacials and interstadials and more subtle glacial events, even when the origin of precipitation is accounted for. Our results indicate that Antarctic climate is essentially homogeneous at the scale of the East Antarctic Plateau, possibly as a consequence of the symmetry of the plateau and the adjacent ocean.     

拉萨市近36年气候变化特征分析

目的利用1978-2013年拉萨市所属4个气象站点(当雄、尼木、拉萨、墨竹工卡)的气温和降水资料,研究拉萨市4个气象站点近36年的气候变化特征,为当地4个县区人们的日常生活和社会经济发展提供科学指导。方法采用趋势系数法研究其气候变化趋势,用曼-肯德尔(Mann-Kendall)法,对气象数据进行时间序列的趋势分析及突变检验,并对各站点的气候特征进行比较分析。结果与结论(1)4个站点年平均气温呈波动上升趋势,增温最快的是拉萨站,速率为0.66℃/10a,速率最慢的尼木站为0.34℃/10a;(2)各站点的降水表现为缓慢地波动上升趋势,均表现为夏季降水量远远多于其它季节,冬季降水量呈减少趋势;(3)除拉萨和墨竹工卡站气温未发生突变,其它2个站点气温突变显著,4个站点的降水突变显著。     

近30年河南省度假气候指数变化特征分析

利用河南省111个国家气象观测站近30年(1991—2020年)的地面气象资料,包含逐日最高气温、平均相对湿度、降水量、风速、云覆盖率等气象要素,分析河南省度假气候指数的时空变化特征。结果显示:河南度假气候指数1—12月份达到“适宜”及以上等级,月变化呈现双峰型,在4—5月和9—10月最高,达到“特别适宜”等级;度假气候指数在季节变化上,春秋两季最高、夏季次之、冬季最低;空间分布上年内呈现“北高南低”的特点,季节分布上呈现明显的区域特点和一定的维度特点。     

河北怀来盆地近60a气候变化特征及其影响

利用河北省怀来县1954—2012年月气象数据,采用线性倾向率法,距平法和Mann-Kendall趋势检验方法揭示了当地的气候变化特征;并分析了气候变化对水库来水量和粮食单产的关系.结果表明:1)近60年来,怀来县气候倾向率为0.36℃·(10a)-1,高于全国平均水平,年降水量呈下降趋势;从季节来看,四季气温均呈上升趋势,降水变化趋势存在差异,四季中以夏季暖干化趋势最明显.2)研究区年和四季年代均温都在1980—1989年开始变暖;年降水自1980—1989年开始减少,四季降水量的年代变化差异较大.3)研究区小区域尺度上的气候变化趋势与北方较大区域和全国尺度上的结果较为一致,并且暖干化趋势更加明显.4)气候要素与水库来水量和粮食单产显著相关,气候暖干化将加剧研究区水库来水锐减和粮食单产较低的问题.     

河套灌区近50年气候变化特征及趋势分析

以河套灌区为研究区,收集、整理和分析了河套灌区由西向东的磴口、杭后、临河、五原、前旗5个区域近50年的气候资料:包括降水量、气温、日照总时数、无霜期、平均风速、蒸发量等,分别运用线性趋势法、Mann-Kendell法和小波分析等手段,研究了该地区不同时段、不同区域的气象因子的趋势性、突变性和周期性.结果显示:近50年来灌区年平均气温呈逐年上升的趋势,并且通过了M-K显著性检验.50年间增温幅度约为2℃,各月极端气温差约为41℃,且各月气温呈明显的升高趋势,突变点为1990年;灌区年降水量在波动中呈微弱增加的线性趋势,增加总量不足10mm;而灌区年蒸发量自2000年以来呈现出明显的增加趋势,增加的蒸发量体现在春季的2、3、4月份;灌区年平均风速有明显的降低趋势,突变点为2000年;年日照总时数有变短、年无霜期有增加趋势,但二者变化趋势并不明显.     

杭州市近50年气候舒适度变化

目的分析杭州市气候舒适度的多年变化特征。方法运用气候舒适度分析方法,选用国家气象局规定的统一标准,计算分析了杭州市气候舒适度指数的变化情况。结果杭州市50年来平均温度呈上升趋势,平均相对湿度呈下降趋势,平均风速变化不明显。气候舒适度总体呈上升趋势;从不同等级气候舒适度天数变化来看,总体上表现为人体感觉冷不舒服的天数为减少的趋势;而人体感觉热不舒服的天数变化不明显;人体感觉舒服的天数也表现为增加趋势。结论气候变化对杭州的气候舒适度发展总体有利。     

近40年大尺度气候因子对中国洪涝灾害的可能影响

基于中国1980—2018年0.5°×0.5°逐日降水数据、紧急灾害数据库数据（EM-DAT）,分析了厄尔尼诺-南方涛动（ENSO）和北大西洋涛动（NAO）对中国极端降水频次及强度、洪水发生率及损失的可能影响．结论如下:1)当冬季厄尔尼诺发生后,次年我国东部沿海及黄河、长江下游地区秋季极端降水强度增加26%;当冬季拉尼娜发生后,次年我国东部地区春、夏季极端降水强度分别增加8.8%、5.1%．2)当NAO为正位相时,我国大部分地区春、夏、秋季极端降水频次较高,华东地区夏季极端降水强度增加8.5%．3)与正常年份相比,冬季厄尔尼诺或拉尼娜发生后,次年我国春季洪水损失偏多14.5%,秋季洪水发生率偏低30%;NAO为正位相时,我国春季洪水损失偏少20%,秋季洪水发生率偏高14%．4)当拉尼娜发生后及NAO正位相、负位相时,我国长江、黄河和珠江流域极端降水与洪涝灾害的变化具有一致性．      

Conceptual model of the Bahamian Platform for the last 135 million years

The subsidence history of the Bahamian Platform points to a non-uniform rate of sea-floor spreading since the beginning of the Cretaceous. Lower Cretaceous rates of perhaps 5 cm/yr led to an active trench system at the boundary between the American and Caribbean lithosphere plates, and the rapid subsidence of the continental margin produced graben faults on the Bahamian Platform and normal faults in Cuba.     

近三年来中国企业知识管理测度研究现状述评

企业知识管理的实施引起了对知识管理测度的广泛探索和研究.根据近三年来中国关于企业知识管理测度理论和评价指标体系研究的实际成果,分析了已有成果中存在的测评目标问题和测评指标体系设计问题,详细阐述了企业知识管理的测评目标应该是"水平评价"而不是"效益评价"的缘由,明确指出了企业知识管理水平的含义以及企业知识管理水平评价的意义.最后指出评价指标体系的设计,应该是全面的、合理的、贴切的和可操作的.