The Impact of Climate Warming on Permafrost and Qinghai-Tibet Railway

Global wanning is an inarguable fact. Permafrost is experiencing a change due to climate warming in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, such as the decreasing of permafrost table, the rising of permafrost temperature, etc. On the basis of analysing the permafrost change under the climate change and engineering action, the thermal regime and spatial distribution of permafrost are predicted for air temperature rising 1℃ and 2.6℃ after 50 years in this paper. The results show that climate change results in the larger change for the thermal regime and spatial distribution of permafrost. Permafrost change will produce the great effect on the Qinghai- Tibet Railway engineering, not only resulting in the decreasing of permafrost table beneath the roadbed, but also resulting in thawing settlement due to the thawing of ground ice near permafrost table. The idea of cooling roadbed and actively protecting permafrost for the Qinghai-Tibet Railway engineering could adjust and control the permafrost thermal state, some better methods are provided to ensure the engineering stability in the areas of warm permafrost and high ice content.     

A Roadbed Cooling Approach for the Construction of Qinghai-Tibet Railway

Over one half of the permafrost along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is ＂warm＂ and approximately 40% ice-rich. Under global warming, the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway needs to consider climate changes over the next 50 - 100 years. Recent estimates indicate that the air temperature on the plateau will increase by 2.2- 2.6℃ by 2050. Thus, the key to the success of the railway construction lies in preventing the permafrost underlying roadbeds from thawing. It has been more than 100 years since the first railway was build over permafrost. A frost damage ratio of greater than 30 % has been reported for all the railroads built in permafrost regions. Based upon the experience and lessons leamed from roadway constructions over permafrost, this paper proposes a more proactive design approach for the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. This approach focuses on cooling down the roadbed by lowering the ground temperature and is different from the passive method of preventing permafrost from thawing by simply increasing thermal resistance （e. g., increasing embankment height and using insulating materials）. This ＂roadbed cooling＂ design approach is especially relevant to ＂warm＂ and ice-rich permafrost areas. A number of measures can be taken to cool down the roadbed, including proper selection of roadbed material, and configurations to adjust solar radiation, heat convection, and heat conduction patterus in and/or around the roadbed.     

Advances in research of sulphide ore textures and their implications for ore genesis

Important advances in research of sulphide ore textures in recent years have deepened our understanding of ore genesis of related mineral deposits. Pressure solution of sulphide minerals has been suggested as a mechanism for remobilization of ore materials, whereas pressure solution of the gangues is believed to raise the grade of the primary ores. We have known that precipitation of base metal sulphides from fluids prefers crystal and crack surfaces of pyrite to form overgrowth. Therefore, pyrite-bearing embryo beds in a sedimentary sequence can be acted as effective crystal seed beds and are favorable for fluid overprinting to form huge statabound deposits. Texture studies of various sulphides can be used to interpret the entire history of sedimentation, diagenesis, deformation and metamorphism of the ores. The study of chalcopyrite disease in sphalerite has brought about the idea of zone refining, and given a new explanation to metal zonation in massive sulphide deposits. Ductile shearing of sulphide ores may form ore mylonites, which will become oreshoots enriched in Cu, Au and Ag during late-stage fluid overprinting. Despite that various modern analytical techniques are being rapidly developed, ore microscopy remains to be an unreplaceable tool for ore geologists. Combined with these modern techniques, this tool will help accelerate the development of theories on ore genesis.     

Spatiotemporal characteristics of freezing and thawing of the active layer in the source areas of the Yellow River （SAYR）

Based on the analysis of data on temperatures and moisture of soils in the active layer at four different permafrost sites in the source areas of the Yellow River(SAYR)in 2010–2012,the freeze–thaw processes of soils in the active layer were compared and contrasted for understanding the spatiotemporal variations.At the four studied sites,the thickness and mean annual temperature of permafrost are different.The temperatures at the top of permafrost(TTOP),i.e.,the maximum depth(s)of seasonal frost and/or thaw penetration,are-1.9°C at the Chalaping site(CLP),-0.9°C at the site on the southern bank of the Zhaling Lake(ZLH),-0.4°C at the Maduo Town site(MDX),and 1.1°C at the site on the northern bank of the Eling Lake(ELH).Differences in the mean annual ground temperature of permafrost and TTOPs may be responsible for the differentiations in the freeze–thaw processes of soils in the active layer.With rising TTOPs,the ground thawing started earlier:CLP in early June,ZLH in late May,MDX in early May,and ELH in mid-April,while the freezing began later:CLP in early October,ZLH in early to midOctober,MDX in mid-October,and ELH in the mid-to late October.With increasing TTOPs,the freeze-up periods for permafrost sites were shortened:202 days at CLP,130 days at ZLH,100 days at MDX,and the period of complete thaw was 89 days at ELH.At the CLP and ZLH sites,the two-directional ground freezing(downwards from ground surfaces and upwards from the permafrost table)and thawing finished in the same year,but the ground freezing at the MDX continued to the end of the nextJanuary,with very slow freezing rates in the end.At the ELH site,ground freezing kept on until early May when thawing began on the surface,and upward and downward thawing became increasingly stable in late June to early July.At each site,with rising TTOPs,the downward freezing accelerated in comparison with the upward freezing,and with an increasing proportion of downward frozen depth,and with the larger ratios of freezing to thawing duration.In summary,the patterns of thawing and freezing processes in the active layer in the SAYR differ from those in other parts of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau to a noticeable extent.     

Phylogenetic identification and microbial diversity in snow of the summit （8201 m） of Cho Oyu Mountain,Tibet

The bacterial diversity and abundance in snow of the summit （8201 m） of Cho Oyu mountain, Tibet, were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing followed by scanning electronic microscopy analysis. Most of bacteria were found to be of spherical or oval shape （〉95%）. Bacterial 16S rDNA sequences were classified into 5 genera （Caulobacter, Ralstonia, Cupriavidus, Pelomonas and Pseudomonas）. Gammaproteobacteria were the most abundant （91.25%） among the library that consists of 594 clones. The sequences found in this study are highly similar to those previously retrieved from other cold environments, such as ice core, sea ice, permafrost and snow. The results showed that the cold and barren environments strongly influence the survival of bacteria. The high similarity among sequences retrieved from snow sample and other places, such as ocean, soil and water, suggested that the bacteria in snow, soil and water environments have the same origin.     

The potential of vertebrate microfossils for marine to non-marine correlation in the Late Jurassic

Fish (cartilaginous: elasmobranch and bony: osteichthyan actinopterygian) and reptile (crocodile) microfossils comprising scales and teeth have been examined from a series of limestone samples in the Upper Jurassic of France and Germany to gauge the possibilities of using them for correlation between fully marine and hypo-or hyper-saline (non-marine) deposits.     

The potential of vertebrate microfossils for marine to non-marine correlation in the Late Jurassic

Fish (cartilaginous: elasmobranch and bony: osteichthyan actinopterygian) and reptile (crocodile) microfossils comprising scales and teeth have been examined from a series of limestone samples in the Upper Jurassic of France and Germany to gauge the possibilities of using them for correlation between fully marine and hypo-or hyper-saline (non-marine) deposits.     

Heat transfer process of roadway embankments with different type and width of road surface in permafrost regions

The stability of roadbed in permafrost areas has become a big concern with rapid development and construction of throughways, highways and railways in these areas under the current climate change since it is governed by the thermal condition, or in other words, the heat transfer process in the embankment. We carried out a finite element analysis to analyze the effects of different types of road surface and the effect of breadth of embankment on the embankment heat transfer process. The results indicated that the mean annual heat transfer rate at the bottom of the roadway embankment with asphalt surfaces is 3 times that with sandy gravel surfaces. This means annual heat transfer rate increased by 60% when the breadth of asphalt surface was doubled. The increased heat transfer rate was mainly located at the bottom of the embankment and resulted in the effect of thermal concentration,. leading to degradation of the permafrost by as much as 1.6 times. It was also found that increasing embankment height would not reduce these increases of the heat transfer rate. Therefore both asphalt road surface and increased embankment breadth can lead to an intensified heat transfer rate in roadway embankment, consequently degradating the underlying permafrost and embankment instability.     

Heat transfer process of roadway embankments with different type and width of road surface in permafrost regions

The stability of roadbed in permafrost areas has become a big concern with rapid development and construction of throughways, highways and railways in these areas under the current climate change since it is governed by the thermal condition, or in other words, the heat transfer process in the embankment. We carried out a finite element analysis to analyze the effects of different types of road surface and the effect of breadth of embankment on the embankment heat transfer process. The results indicated that the mean annual heat transfer rate at the bottom of the roadway embankment with asphalt surfaces is 3 times that with sandy gravel surfaces. This means annual heat transfer rate increased by 60% when the breadth of asphalt surface was doubled. The increased heat transfer rate was mainly located at the bottom of the embankment and resulted in the effect of thermal concentration,. leading to degradation of the permafrost by as much as 1.6 times. It was also found that increasing embankment height would not reduce these increases of the heat transfer rate. Therefore both asphalt road surface and increased embankment breadth can lead to an intensified heat transfer rate in roadway embankment, consequently degradating the underlying permafrost and embankment instability.     

Use of Ionic Liquid as Green Catalyst, Reagent as Well as Reaction Medium in Chemical Transformations

1 Introduction The toxic and volatile nature of many organic solvents, particularly chlorinated hydrocarbons that are widely used in organic synthesis have posed a serious threat to the environment. Thus, design of organic solvent-free reaction and use of alternative green solvents like water, supercritical fluids, and ionic liquids have received tremendous attention in recent times in the area of green synthesis. The ionic liquids have been the subject of considerable current interest as envi…     

Changes of climate extremes of temperature and precipitation in summer in eastern China associated with changes in atmospheric circulation in East Asia during 1960–2008

Climate extremes and changes in eastern China are closely related to variations of the East Asian summer monsoon and corresponding atmospheric circulations.The relationship between frequencies of temperature and precipitation extremes in China during the last half century is investigated using Singular Value Decomposition analysis.During 1980-1996,there was a typical pattern with fewer hot days and more precipitation extremes in the northern part of eastern China,and more hot days and fewer precipitation extremes in the southern part.This geographic pattern tended to reverse after 1997,with fewer hot days and more extreme precipitation days south of the Yangtze River and vice versa to the north.Differences in atmospheric circulation between the former and latter periods are presented.We conclude that a mid-level anomalous high/low,upper-level anomalous easterlies/westerlies over the north/south of eastern China,a weakened East Asian summer monsoon and associated upper-tropospheric center of cooling(30°N,110°E) are all favorable for the changes in frequencies of temperature and precipitation extremes.     

Precise timing of lacustrine gypsum in Luobubo, Xinjiang using the thermal ionization mass spectrometry U-series method

Dating techniques including gypsum dissolution in water, iron hydroxide co-precipitation with uranium and thorium and mass spectrometric determination have been investigated in this note. The ages of the gypsum samples in a CK core from Luobubo lacustrine sediments are in the range of (12.85±0.21) kaBP (4 m distance from the top core) to (153.2±7.2) kaBP (49 m distance from the top core) with the relative errors of ±1.6%–±4.7%. It indicates that the sedimental environment of the CK core was situated in the middle-late Pleistocene and Holocene periods, corresponding to 1–6 stages of oxygen isotopes in the abyssal sediments and included much information from last interglacial to Holocene warm periods.     

Interdecadal shift in the western North Pacific Summer SST anomaly in the late 1980s

An interdecadal shift in summer (June―August) sea surface temperature (SST) variations during the period of 1968―2002 was identified in the late 1980s, which is characterized by a phase alternating from negative to positive phases of the leading mode of the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of the summer monthly mean SST in the Pacific domain 100°―180°E and 0°―40°N, accounting for 30.5% of the total variance. During the period of 1968―1987, the leading mode with a mean negative phase state (mean standard deviation = ?0.586) controlled SST variability in the western North Pacific. Correspondingly, negative SST anomalies occupied the western North Pacific south of Japan and Chinese marginal seas. During the period of 1988―2002, the leading mode shifted to its strong positive polarity (mean standard deviation = 0.781), thus positive SST anomalies appeared in the western North Pacific. Accompanied by the interdecadal shift in summer mean SST, summer mean rainfall increased in southern and southeastern China during the late period, particularly in southeastern China where increase in summer mean rainfall exceeded 40 mm, at the 0.05 significance level.     

Lake records and LGM climate in China

Chinese lake status database has provided systematic geological records of much higher lake level and fresher water than today at the LGM from western China. This wet condition was significant contrast with very dry conditions in eastern China. Together with lake studies from Eurasian continents, there was a wet-condition belt from the Mediterranean and the Middle East, Central Asia to western China. Palaeoclimate simulations confirmed that the wet conditions in western China were produced by decrease of the evaporation and increase of precipitation by positive anomaly of annual P-E of 70-95 mm/a between the LGM and today. The westerlies enhanced in the strength and shifted southwards-eastwards in the position, and the low thermal conditions in the Eurasian continent creating temperature 4-16℃ lower than today and relatively low evaporation, were the major two important climate conditions to yield cold-wet climates in western China.     

Late Pleistocene glaciation of the Changbai Mountains in northeastern China

The Changbai Mountains （2749 m a.s.l.） in northeastern China are one of the typical mountain regions with glaciation since late Pleistocene as evidenced by well-preserved erosive and accumulative landforms at elevations above 2000 m a.s.l, formed by glaciers around the crater lake, Tianchi Lake. Cirque glaciers developed on both the inner and outer sides of the volcanic cone. Well-preserved cirques, glacial trough valleys, glacial threholds, polished surfaces of the glacial erratics and the moraine ridges indicate that several glaciation processes took place during the last glacial period in this region. Resuits of optically stimulated luminescence （OSL） dating on the moraine sediments, and the K/Ar, thermal ionization mass spectrometry （TIMS）, electronic spinning resonance （ESR） dating on the volcanic rocks suggest two periods of glacier advances. One is named the Black Wind Mouth glacier advance taking place on the west and north slopes of the volcanic cone at an elevation of 2000-2100 m a.s.l., which is dated to about 20 ka, being the result of the Last Glacial Maximum （LGM）. The other is named the Meteorological Station glacier advance at the elevation of 2400-2600 m a.s.l., dated to 11 ka during the late glacial period, and is tentatively correlated to the Younger Dryas stage. The scope of the former glacier advance is larger than that of the latter. Regional comparisons showed that the glacial sequences in the Changbai Mountains are similar to other glaciated areas in eastern Asia during the later part of the last glacial cycle.     

Chronology of the stratum containing the skull of the Dali Man

The field investigations of geomorphology and Quaternary sediment sequences show that the sediment stratigraphic profile containing the skull of the Homo sapiens Daliensis (Dali Man) at Tianshuigou trench, Jiefang Village (109° 44′E, 34°52′N), Dali County, Shaanxi Province, is composed of the loess-paleosol sequence, 17.3 m thick, in the upper part, and the alluvial silts, fine sands and sandy gravels interbedded, 15.4 m thick, in the lower part. There are the well developed layers L₁, S₁, L₂ and S₂ in the loess-paleosol sequence of the profile, which are comparable; to those of the Luochuan loess section on the basis of magnetic succeptibility measurements and IRSL dating of the loess samples. An alluvial gravel layer, where the skull of the Dali Man was discovered, is in 13 m beneath the bottom of paleosol S₂, implying that, the age of the Dali Man must be older than about 247 kaBP when the paleosol S₂ began to be developed. The samples of mammal animal tooth and shell fossils from the gravel layer containing the skull of the Dali Man have been dated by uranium series and ESR methods respectively. Based on the multiple dating results and the stratigraphic chronology, the age of the Dali Man, therefore, would be estimated as older than 250 kaBP and younger than 350 kaBP, and reasonably estimated as 260–300 kaBP.     

Dynamic control on grain-size distribution of terrigenous sediments in the western South China Sea: Implication for East Asian monsoon evolution

High-resolution oxygen isotope stratigraphy of Core MD05-2901, which is located off eastern Vietnam in the western South China Sea （SCS）, was established and indicated that the core spans a time period of the past 450 ka. Based on the bulk density, fractional porosity and lithogenic content of the sediments, terrigenous mass accumulation rate （TMAR） was obtained, which is 4.9-6.0 g cm^-2 ka^-1 on average during interglacial stages, higher than that during glacial stages, i.e. 1.9-5.0 g cm^-2 ka^-1, which is different from northern and southern SCS which show higher TMAR in glacial stages. By principle component analysis of grain size distribution of all the samples, two main control factors （F1 and F2） were obtained, which are responsible for about 80% variance of granularity. The contents of grain size population 1.26-2.66 μm% and 10.8-14.3 μm% which are sensible to F1 show high-frequency fluctuation, and correlate well with the summer insolation at 15^o N. They exhibit a distinct cyclicity with frequencies near 23 ka and 13 ka, in contrast to a strong frequency peak near 100 ka obtained in proxies 4.24-7.42 μm% and 30.1-43.7 μm% controlled mainly by F2. The sedimentary character of this part of the SCS was controlled by variations of input flux from two main source areas, namely the southwest and north SCS, which were transported by different circulations of surface current forced by East Asian summer monsoon and winter monsoon respectively. We believe that the East Asian summer monsoon has fluctuated with high frequency and been forced by changes in solar insolation in low latitude associated with precession and half precession, while ice-volume forcing is probably a primary factor in determining the strength and timing of the East Asian winter monsoon but with less important insolation forcing.     

Vegetation evolution and millennial-scale climatic fluctuations since Last Glacial Maximum in pollen record from northern South China Sea

A large number of paleoclimate records reveal subMilankovitch climatic fluctuations on the millennial-scalesuperimposing on the Earth orbital cycles[1], such as theHeinrich ice draft events in the Atlantic (each intervalabout 7000–10000 a)[2,3], the Dansgaard/Oeschger (D-O)events (millennial-scale) in Greenland Ice Cores and theBond cycle composed of a Heinrcih event after severalD-O events[4]. At present, most recent work on millennial-scale climatic fluctuations focuses on the high lat…     

A very strong summer monsoon event during 30–40 kaBP in the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau and its relation to precessional cycle

Guliya ice core records, high lake-level records in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and at its north side as well as vegetation succession records indicated that during the period of 30–40 kaBP, namely the later age of the megainterstadial of last glacial period, or the marine oxygen isotope stage 3, the climate of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau was exceptionally warm and humid, the temperature was 2–4°C higher than today and the precipitation was 40% to over 100% higher than the current average, all these suggested the existence of an exceedingly strong summer monsoon event. It has been inferred that the occurrence of such an event was attributed, on the one hand, to the stronger summer low pressure over the Plateau, which strengthened the attraction to the summer monsoon; on the other hand, to the vigorous evaporation of the tropic ocean surface, which promoted the moisture-rich southwest monsoon to flow over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The background responsible for the formation of the very strong summer monsoon was that the period of 30–40 kaBP was just in the strong insolation stage of the 20ka precessional cycle, when the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau received extraordinary strong solar radiation and thus enlarged the thermodynamical contrast between the Plateau and the midsouth part of the Indian Ocean.     

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.