Debating about the climate warming

Debating about the climate warming is reviewed. Discussions have focused on the validity of the temperature reconstruction for the last millennium made by Mann et al. Arguments against and for the reconstruction are introduced. Temperature reconstructions by other authors are examined, including the one carried out by Wang et al. in 1996. It is concluded that: (1) Ability of reproducing temperature variability of time scale less than 10 a is limited, so no sufficient evidence proves that the 1990s was the warmest decade, and 1998 was the warmest year over the last millennium. (2) All of the temperature reconstructions by different authors demonstrate the occurrence of the MWP (Medieval Warm Period) and LIA (Little Ice Age) in low frequency band of temperature variations, though the peak in the MWP and trough in LIA varies from one reconstruction to the others. Therefore, terms of MWP and LIA can be used in studies of climate change. (3) The warming from 1975 to 2000 was significant, but we do not know if it was the strongest for the last millennium, which needs to be proved by more evidence.     

Microparticle record in the Guliya ice core and its comparison with polar records since the last interglacial

Based on the study of oxygen isotope and microparticle in the Guliya ice core,atmospheric dust and environmental changes in the northwest Tibetan Plateau since the last interglacial were revealed.The microparticle record indicates that low dust load on the Plateau in the interglacial.Particle concentration increased rapidly when the climate turned into the last glacial and reached the maximum during the MIS 4.In the Last Glacial Maximum, however,the enhancement of microparticle concentration was slight,differing to those in the Antarctic and Greenland.On the orbital timescale,both the temperature on the Tibetan Plateau and summer solar insolation in the Northern Hemisphere had their impact on the microparticle record,but the difference in phase and amplitude also existed. Though having the same dust source, microparticle records in the ice cores on the Tibetan Plateau and the Greenland seem to have different significance.     

青藏高原中西部湖泊生物标志物记录的过去两千年气候变化

以青藏高原中西部湖泊达则错和阿翁错为研究对象,通过分析湖泊沉积物岩芯中GDGTs、长链不饱和烯酮与叶蜡化合物单体氢同位素等生物分子标志物获得过去2000 a以来青藏高原中西部定量的温度与降水同位素记录,以期探讨晚全新世以来不同时段青藏高原气候变化区域特征,并揭示过去2000 a季风与西风对青藏高原影响范围的变化.结果表明:(1)青藏高原气候变化存在强烈的区域性特征,两个湖泊均存在中世纪暖期(MWP),但是暖期持续的时间有所不同,高原西部(阿翁错) MWP持续时间明显长于高原中部(达则错);达则错有明显的小冰期(LIA)降温,阿翁错没有发现明显的LIA,可能受样品分辨率低的影响;过去200 a达则错温度有缓慢降低趋势,可能是冰融水补给湖泊温度变化滞后于气候变化的表现.(2)过去2000 a印度夏季风在青藏高原的最北界线可能发生了北移,在距今1000～2000 a,夏季风边界线位于阿翁错以北、达则错以南;但在过去1000 a印度季风边界线移动到阿翁错和达则错以北.     

An abrupt climate event in a coupled ocean-atmosphere simulation without external forcing

Temperature reconstructions from the North Atlantic region indicate frequent abrupt and severe climate fluctuations during the last glacial and Holocene periods. The driving forces for these events are unclear and coupled atmosphere-ocean models of global circulation have only simulated such events by inserting large amounts of fresh water into the northern North Atlantic Ocean. Here we report a drastic cooling event in a 15,000-yr simulation of global circulation with present-day climate conditions without the use of such external forcing. In our simulation, the annual average surface temperature near southern Greenland spontaneously fell 6-10 standard deviations below its mean value for a period of 30-40 yr. The event was triggered by a persistent northwesterly wind that transported large amounts of buoyant cold and fresh water into the northern North Atlantic Ocean. Oceanic convection shut down in response to this flow, concentrating the entire cooling of the northern North Atlantic by the colder atmosphere in the uppermost ocean layer. Given the similarity between our simulation and observed records of rapid cooling events, our results indicate that internal atmospheric variability alone could have generated the extreme climate disruptions in this region.     

Classification of Tibetan lakes based on variations in seasonal lake water temperature

Widespread lakes on the Tibetan Plateau （TP） are valuable archives for investigating climate and environment changes, which could provide essential information on the mechanisms of past climate changes on the TP and their interaction with the global climate systems. However, there is a lack of in-depth investigation of modern limnological processes in the Tibetan lakes, which hampers the understanding of paleolimnological records and lake ecosystem succession. In this study, we performed continuous temperature monitoring at two lakes, Bangong Co, a freshwater lake in the western TP, and Dagze Co, a brackish lake in the central TP, in order to characterize the patterns of seasonal temperature variability, stratification, and mixing. Temperature data for an entire hydrological year demonstrate that Bangong Co is a dimictic lake and that Dagze Co is a meromictic lake. The higher salinity in the deep water at Dagze Co prevents the lake from overturning completely, and this finding is supported by simulations using a physical limnological model Lake Analyzer. Continuous lake water temperature monitoring provides fundamental data for classifying Tibetan lakes, as well as the hydrological basis for understanding their pa- leolimnological records and ecosystem succession.     

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.     

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?C1570. 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 pattern 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?C1600. 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.     

Temperature trends over the past five centuries reconstructed from borehole temperatures

For an accurate assessment of the relative roles of natural variability and anthropogenic influence in the Earth's climate, reconstructions of past temperatures from the pre-industrial as well as the industrial period are essential. But instrumental records are typically available for no more than the past 150 years. Therefore reconstructions of pre-industrial climate rely principally on traditional climate proxy records, each with particular strengths and limitations in representing climatic variability. Subsurface temperatures comprise an independent archive of past surface temperature changes that is complementary to both the instrumental record and the climate proxies. Here we use present-day temperatures in 616 boreholes from all continents except Antarctica to reconstruct century-long trends in temperatures over the past 500 years at global, hemispheric and continental scales. The results confirm the unusual warming of the twentieth century revealed by the instrumental record, but suggest that the cumulative change over the past five centuries amounts to about 1 K, exceeding recent estimates from conventional climate proxies. The strength of temperature reconstructions from boreholes lies in the detection of long-term trends, complementary to conventional climate proxies, but to obtain a complete picture of past warming, the differences between the approaches need to be investigated in detail.     

High-resolution record of climate stability in France during the last interglacial period

The last interglacial period (127-110 kyr ago) has been considered to be an analogue to the present interglacial period, the Holocene, which may help us to understand present climate evolution. But whereas Holocene climate has been essentially stable in Europe, variability in climate during the last interglacial period has remained unresolved, because climate reconstructions from ice cores, continental records and marine sediment cores give conflicting results for this period. Here we present a high-resolution multi-proxy lacustrine record of climate change during the last interglacial period, based on oxygen isotopes in diatom silica, diatom assemblages and pollen-climate transfer functions from the Ribains maar in France. Contrary to a previous study, our data do not show a cold event interrupting the warm interglacial climate. Instead, we find an early temperature maximum with a transition to a colder climate about halfway through the sequence. The end of the interglacial period is clearly marked by an abrupt change in all proxy records. Our study confirms that in southwestern Europe the last interglacial period was a time of climatic stability and is therefore still likely to represent a useful analogue for the present climate.     

青藏高原对全球大气温度和水汽分布的影响

利用耦合的气候模式CESM, 定量研究青藏高原对全球大气温度和水汽分布的影响。通过对比采用真实地形的参考实验(Real)和去掉青藏高原的敏感性实验(NoTibet)发现, 去掉青藏高原会使北半球大气变冷、变干, 对南半球的影响不明显。北半球中高纬度从地表至平流层均有强烈降温, 地表的降温中心在北大西洋, 年平均降温幅度达5ºC, 高空的降温中心在100 hPa的平流层, 年平均降温幅度达2ºC。北大西洋和南亚地区湿度减少, 南大西洋和东非地区湿度增加。北半球变冷主要是海洋向北经向热量输送减少的结果, 一方面增强了北半球的经向温度梯度, 导致Hadley环流增强, 加强了中低纬地区向北的大气热量输送, 部分补偿了海洋向北减少的热量输送, 维持了北半球中低纬度的能量平衡; 另一方面, 使得北半球中高纬度蒸发作用减弱, 大气中水汽含量减少, 北半球变得寒冷干燥。初步的研究表明, 青藏高原对北半球气候有重大影响, 影响范围可达北半球高纬度地区。     

Northern Tibetan Plateau cooling and aridification linked to Cenozoic global cooling: Evidence from <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-alkane distributions of Paleogene sedimentary sequences in the Xining Basin

The Xining Basin on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau holds the longest continuous Cenozoic stratigraphic record in China. The sequence record contains considerable information on the history of Tibetan uplift and associated climatic change. In particular, high resolution n-alkane biomarker proxy and pollen records have been obtained from the Paleogene sediments of the Xiejia section of the basin. A combination of the n-alkane and palynological records reveals that the paleoclimate in the Xining Basin experienced a long-term cooling trend from 50.2 to 28.2 Ma with a distinctive ecological event spanning 37.5 to 32.7 Ma. Since this ecological event, a vertical zonation of vegetation from lowland arid grasses, to middle-elevation subtropical broad-leaf plants, to high-elevation coniferous trees was established. We interpret that these changes in climate and vegetation were probably responses to a combination of long term global cooling since the Eocene climatic optimum and uplift of the surrounding mountains on the northern Tibetan Plateau in the early Cenozoic.     

Simulation of the climatic effects of natural forcings during the pre-industrial era

The MPM-2,an Earth system model of intermediate complexity,is employed to study the climate sys-tem response to natural forcings during the pre-industrial era (1000-1800 AD),with a special focus on the surface air temperature (SAT) evolution. Solar radiation and volcanism are the primary natural forcings during this period. In the MPM-2,the solar radiation forcing determines the long-term trend of the climate system change,and the volcanic forcing intensifies (weakens) this trend. Ultimately,the combination of solar and volcanic forcings dominates the long-term changes of the climate system. These results are in good agreement with other model data or temperature reconstructions. Natural forcings can well explain the Little Ice Age (LIA) and the Medieval Warm Period (MWP). At the large regional scale,the SAT response to natural forcings is almost coincident with that of the Northern Hemisphere. Based on MPM-2 model results,it is concluded that the global climate gradually became cold during the pre-industrial era. However,MPM-2 model results substantially correlate with recon-structed solar and volcanic forcings. Namely,to some great extent,these results strongly rely on the forcing series data we choose. Therefore,in order to accurately simulate the secular variation of the historical climate,it is very important to reconstruct well the solar radiation change and volcanic forc-ing data are well reconstructed for the past 10000 years,at least for the past 2000 years,in addition to the model improvements. The sensitivity study on the abrupt solar radiation change indicates that the increased solar radiation not only strengthens the nonlinear response of SAT,but intensifies the global hydrological cycle. At the same time,the biosphere is also affected obviously.     

Climatic instability recorded by the mollusk assemblages from the late glacial loess deposits in China

The loess-paleosol sequence in China records abundant and valuable information on the global and regional climate changes. Biological record from the loess sequence is the most direct evidence on variation in pattern of paleo-atmospheric circulation and changes in winter and summer monsoon. A new record of climatic instability, which occurred in the Loess Plateau during the late glacial period, is presented. Through the study of terrestrial mollusks from three loess sequences, the authors intend to characterize the biological response process to rapid climate change and to learn the mechanisms driving the instable climate changes and the possible linkage in different regions. The result shows the striking consistent variability in the ratio records of three mollusk sequences of the late glacial, indicating apparent rapid climate fluctuations. Correlation of our three mollusk records with the oxygen isotopic records from Greenland ice cores and foraminifera1 records from the Northeast Pacific Ocean reveals similar instability climate during the late glacial period, which provides us a new thought probing the climate instability observed in the North Atlantic, the North Pacific and the Loess Plateau. The low-level atmospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere may be one possible way to link the unstable climate patterns observed in the above three regions.     

Extreme climate of the global troposphere and stratosphere in 1940-42 related to El Niño

Although the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation phenomenon is the most prominent mode of climate variability and affects weather and climate in large parts of the world, its effects on Europe and the high-latitude stratosphere are controversial. Using historical observations and reconstruction techniques, we analyse the anomalous state of the troposphere and stratosphere in the Northern Hemisphere from 1940 to 1942 that occurred during a strong and long-lasting El Ni?o event. Exceptionally low surface temperatures in Europe and the north Pacific Ocean coincided with high temperatures in Alaska. In the lower stratosphere, our reconstructions show high temperatures over northern Eurasia and the north Pacific Ocean, and a weak polar vortex. In addition, there is observational evidence for frequent stratospheric warmings and high column ozone at Arctic and mid-latitude sites. We compare our historical data for the period 1940-42 with more recent data and a 650-year climate model simulation. We conclude that the observed anomalies constitute a recurring extreme state of the global troposphere-stratosphere system in northern winter that is related to strong El Ni?o events.     

青藏高原湖泊湖面变迁及影响因素

 湖泊对气候波动有敏感记录。以地理信息系统（GIS）和遥感（RS）技术为基础,从20世纪70年代、90年代、2000年前后和2010年前后4期Landsat遥感影像中,提取青藏高原所有湖泊边界信息,建立青藏高原湖泊空间数据库,并收集了青藏高原47个气象台站的年平均气温和年降雨量资料（1961-2010）,研究青藏高原湖泊湖面变迁及其影响因素。结果表明,1973-2010年,青藏高原湖泊个数和总面积呈显著增加的趋势;青藏高原湖泊湖面变迁主要受气温升高、降雨量增加和蒸发量减少的影响;此外,影响青藏高原湖泊湖面动态变化的因素还有冰川分布、人类活动、湖盆形状、补给和排泄区等。     

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.     

高原太阳辐射的利弊及防护措施

太阳辐射是最基本气象学资源,并对光合作用提供了积极的辐射能源,强烈地影响着气候,并为蒸发作用提供能量。这意味着太阳辐射给气候的变化传播能量。太阳辐射在时间和空间上的分配细节如对气象、水文、农业、白天所需的日光,太阳能的利用进行数据估计至关重要。因此,太阳辐射对不同特定区域的气候起着重要的作用,对农业、气象和水文具有实质的影响。文章结合青藏高原特殊的气候、地理等特征,阐述太阳辐射对气候的重要作用和人们在户外（太阳底下）作业时,应该采取的防护措施。     

Variations in air temperature during the last 100 years revealed by δ~(18)O in the Malanice core from the Tibetan Plateau

By comprehensive analyses,it was found that the variations in δ^18O recorded in Malan ice core from the Kekexili Region on the Tibetan Plateau could represent the changes in air temperature during the summer half year (from May to October) over the Kekexili Region and the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau.The general increase trend in δ^18O in the ice core during the past century indicated climate warming,and it was estimated that air temperature during the summer half-year rose about 1.2℃ over there then.However,this ice core record documented that the study area has been cooling while most of the world has been dramatically warming since the late 1970s. A tele-connection was found between the variations in δ^18O in the Malan ice core and the North Atlantic Oscillation.Moreover,the variations in δ^18O in this ice core were similar to that in the summer half-year air temperature over the southern Tibetan Plateau on the centurial time scale,but opposite on the multidecadal time scale.     

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℃ 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 mid-south part of the Indian Ocean.     

An ice-core record of vegetation and climate changes in the central Tibetan Plateau during the last 550 years

We present a 550-year ice-core pollen record with a 5-year resolution from the Puruogangri ice field in the central Tibetan Plateau.Analysis of the relationship between pollen record and instrumental observations suggests that the sum of the steppe and meadow pollen taxa is a good indicator of summer (June-August) temperature,whereas the ratios of Cyperaceae/(Gramineae+Artemisia) [Cy/(G+A)] as well as M/S (meadow to steppe percentages) are indicative of humidity changes in this region.Together with δ18O and...