Subtropical Arctic Ocean temperatures during the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum

The Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum, approximately 55 million years ago, was a brief period of widespread, extreme climatic warming, that was associated with massive atmospheric greenhouse gas input. Although aspects of the resulting environmental changes are well documented at low latitudes, no data were available to quantify simultaneous changes in the Arctic region. Here we identify the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum in a marine sedimentary sequence obtained during the Arctic Coring Expedition. We show that sea surface temperatures near the North Pole increased from 18 degrees C to over 23 degrees C during this event. Such warm values imply the absence of ice and thus exclude the influence of ice-albedo feedbacks on this Arctic warming. At the same time, sea level rose while anoxic and euxinic conditions developed in the ocean's bottom waters and photic zone, respectively. Increasing temperature and sea level match expectations based on palaeoclimate model simulations, but the absolute polar temperatures that we derive before, during and after the event are more than 10 degrees C warmer than those model-predicted. This suggests that higher-than-modern greenhouse gas concentrations must have operated in conjunction with other feedback mechanisms--perhaps polar stratospheric clouds or hurricane-induced ocean mixing--to amplify early Palaeogene polar temperatures.     

Vertical structure of recent Arctic warming

Near-surface warming in the Arctic has been almost twice as large as the global average over recent decades-a phenomenon that is known as the 'Arctic amplification'. The underlying causes of this temperature amplification remain uncertain. The reduction in snow and ice cover that has occurred over recent decades may have played a role. Climate model experiments indicate that when global temperature rises, Arctic snow and ice cover retreats, causing excessive polar warming. Reduction of the snow and ice cover causes albedo changes, and increased refreezing of sea ice during the cold season and decreases in sea-ice thickness both increase heat flux from the ocean to the atmosphere. Changes in oceanic and atmospheric circulation, as well as cloud cover, have also been proposed to cause Arctic temperature amplification. Here we examine the vertical structure of temperature change in the Arctic during the late twentieth century using reanalysis data. We find evidence for temperature amplification well above the surface. Snow and ice feedbacks cannot be the main cause of the warming aloft during the greater part of the year, because these feedbacks are expected to primarily affect temperatures in the lowermost part of the atmosphere, resulting in a pattern of warming that we only observe in spring. A significant proportion of the observed temperature amplification must therefore be explained by mechanisms that induce warming above the lowermost part of the atmosphere. We regress the Arctic temperature field on the atmospheric energy transport into the Arctic and find that, in the summer half-year, a significant proportion of the vertical structure of warming can be explained by changes in this variable. We conclude that changes in atmospheric heat transport may be an important cause of the recent Arctic temperature amplification.     

Southern Ocean sea-ice extent, productivity and iron flux over the past eight glacial cycles

Sea ice and dust flux increased greatly in the Southern Ocean during the last glacial period. Palaeorecords provide contradictory evidence about marine productivity in this region, but beyond one glacial cycle, data were sparse. Here we present continuous chemical proxy data spanning the last eight glacial cycles (740,000 years) from the Dome C Antarctic ice core. These data constrain winter sea-ice extent in the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean biogenic productivity and Patagonian climatic conditions. We found that maximum sea-ice extent is closely tied to Antarctic temperature on multi-millennial timescales, but less so on shorter timescales. Biological dimethylsulphide emissions south of the polar front seem to have changed little with climate, suggesting that sulphur compounds were not active in climate regulation. We observe large glacial-interglacial contrasts in iron deposition, which we infer reflects strongly changing Patagonian conditions. During glacial terminations, changes in Patagonia apparently preceded sea-ice reduction, indicating that multiple mechanisms may be responsible for different phases of CO2 increase during glacial terminations. We observe no changes in internal climatic feedbacks that could have caused the change in amplitude of Antarctic temperature variations observed 440,000 years ago.     

Possible methane-induced polar warming in the early Eocene

Reconstructions of early Eocene climate depict a world in which the polar environments support mammals and reptiles, deciduous forests, warm oceans and rare frost conditions. At the same time, tropical sea surface temperatures are interpreted to have been the same as or slightly cooler than present values. The question of how to warm polar regions of Earth without noticeably warming the tropics remains unresolved; increased amounts of greenhouse gases would be expected to warm all latitudes equally. Oceanic heat transport has been postulated as a mechanism for heating high latitudes, but it is difficult to explain the dynamics that would achieve this. Here we consider estimates of Eocene wetland areas and suggest that the flux of methane, an important greenhouse gas, may have been substantially greater during the Eocene than at present. Elevated methane concentrations would have enhanced early Eocene global warming, and also might specifically have prevented severe winter cooling of polar regions because of the potential of atmospheric methane to promote the formation of optically thick, polar stratospheric ice clouds.     

Mitigation of greenhouse gases released from mining activities: A review

Climate changes that occur as a result of global warming caused by increasing amounts of greenhouse gases(GHGs)released into the atmosphere are an alarming issue.Controlling greenhouse gas emissions is critically important for the current and future status of mining activities.The mining industry is one of the significant contributors of greenhouse gases.In essence,anthropogenic greenhouse gases are emitted directly during the actual mining and indirectly released by the energy-intensive activities associated with mining equipment,ore transport,and the processing industry.Therefore,we reviewed both direct and indirect GHG emissions to analyze how mining contributes to climate change.In addition,we showed how climate change impacts mineral production.This assessment was performed using a GHG inventory model for the gases released from mines undergoing different product life cycles.We also elucidate the key issues and various research outcomes to demonstrate how the mining industry and policymakers can mitigate GHG emission from the mining sector.The review concludes with an overview of GHG release reduction and mitigation strategies.     

Mitigation of greenhouse gases released from mining activities: A review

Climate changes that occur as a result of global warming caused by increasing amounts of greenhouse gases(GHGs) released into the atmosphere are an alarming issue.Controlling greenhouse gas emissions is critically important for the current and future status of mining activities.The mining industry is one of the significant contributors of greenhouse gases.In essence, anthropogenic greenhouse gases are emitted directly during the actual mining and indirectly released by the energy-intensive activities associated with mining equipment, ore transport,and the processing industry.Therefore, we reviewed both direct and indirect GHG emissions to analyze how mining contributes to climate change.In addition, we showed how climate change impacts mineral production.This assessment was performed using a GHG inventory model for the gases released from mines undergoing different product life cycles.We also elucidate the key issues and various research outcomes to demonstrate how the mining industry and policymakers can mitigate GHG emission from the mining sector.The review concludes with an overview of GHG release reduction and mitigation strategies.     

High temperatures in the Late Cretaceous Arctic Ocean

To understand the climate dynamics of the warm, equable greenhouse world of the Late Cretaceous period, it is important to determine polar palaeotemperatures. The early palaeoceanographic history of the Arctic Ocean has, however, remained largely unknown, because the sea floor and underlying deposits are usually inaccessible beneath a cover of floating ice. A shallow piston core taken from a drifting ice island in 1970 fortuitously retrieved unconsolidated Upper Cretaceous organic-rich sediment from Alpha ridge, a submarine elevated feature of probable oceanic origin. A lack of carbonate in the sediments from this core has prevented the use of traditional oxygen-isotope palaeothermometry. Here we determine Arctic palaeotemperatures from these Upper Cretaceous deposits using TEX86, a new palaeothermometer that is based on the composition of membrane lipids derived from a ubiquitous component of marine plankton, Crenarchaeota. From these analyses we infer an average sea surface temperature of approximately 15 degrees C for the Arctic Ocean about 70 million years ago. This calibration point implies an Equator-to-pole gradient in sea surface temperatures of approximately 15 degrees C during this interval and, by extrapolation, we suggest that polar waters were generally warmer than 20 degrees C during the middle Cretaceous (approximately 90 million years ago).     

A climatologically significant aerosol longwave indirect effect in the Arctic

The warming of Arctic climate and decreases in sea ice thickness and extent observed over recent decades are believed to result from increased direct greenhouse gas forcing, changes in atmospheric dynamics having anthropogenic origin, and important positive reinforcements including ice-albedo and cloud-radiation feedbacks. The importance of cloud-radiation interactions is being investigated through advanced instrumentation deployed in the high Arctic since 1997 (refs 7, 8). These studies have established that clouds, via the dominance of longwave radiation, exert a net warming on the Arctic climate system throughout most of the year, except briefly during the summer. The Arctic region also experiences significant periodic influxes of anthropogenic aerosols, which originate from the industrial regions in lower latitudes. Here we use multisensor radiometric data to show that enhanced aerosol concentrations alter the microphysical properties of Arctic clouds, in a process known as the 'first indirect' effect. Under frequently occurring cloud types we find that this leads to an increase of an average 3.4 watts per square metre in the surface longwave fluxes. This is comparable to a warming effect from established greenhouse gases and implies that the observed longwave enhancement is climatologically significant.     

Estimated HCFC-142b emissions in China: 2000–2050

1-Chloro-1,1-difluoroethane(HCFC-142b)was both ozone depleting substance under restriction of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer(Montreal Protocol)and potent greenhouse gas with high GWP.Controlling its emissions in China will contribute to both mitigating climate change and protecting ozone.A national emission inventory of HCFC-142b for China during 2000–2012 was established and projected to2050 based on the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and the Montreal Protocol,showing that(i)in contrast to the downward trend revealed by existing researches,HCFC-142b emissions kept increasing from 0.1 kt/y in 2000 to the peak of 14.4 kt/y in2012,making China a crucial contributor to global HCFC-142b emissions and(ii)for future emission projections,a continuous increase from 14.9 kt/y in 2013 to 97.2 kt/y in2050 was anticipated under the business-as-usual(BAU)scenarios,while a reduction of about 90%of the projected BAU emissions would be obtained by fulfilling the Montreal Protocol,namely an accumulative mitigation of 1578kt HCFC-142b from 2013 to 2050,equal to 103 kt ODP and 3504 Tg CO2emissions.Emissions from each province in 2012 were also estimated to identify key emission areas.Among the 31 mainland provinces in China(Hong Kong,Macao,and Taiwan were not included),Jiangsu,Zhejiang,Shandong,and Guangdong had the highest emission ratesin 2012(2.06,1.85,1.52,and 1.04 kt/y,respectively);Zhejiang,Jiangsu,and Shanghai exhibit the strongest emission strength(0.83,0.59,and 0.54 t/km2,respectively),much higher than the average national level of 0.33t/km2.     

Distribution,ecology, and oxygen and carbon isotope characteristics of modern planktonic foraminifers in the Makarov Basin of the Arctic Ocean

The Arctic region, with magnificent ice cover on the surface of the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas, is not only extremely sensitive to but also has strong amplification effects on climate change. Observations during the past decades have documented substantial retreat and thinning of the Arctic sea-ice cover, a process that is accelerating. Its feedback and impact on the global climate has become an important subject of current climate change research. Calcite tests of planktonic foraminifers are major constituents in pelagic sediments, and they provide valuable materials for the reconstruction of past oceanographic conditions. However, research is still sparse in the Arctic sea area because of limited availability of the materials for investigation. Here, we present a study of modern foraminifers from the plankton tow samples taken in the Makarov Basin of the Arctic Ocean during the fourth Arctic expedition of China. We have analyzed ecological information stored in the modern planktonic foraminifers and in their stable isotope signals, and established a relationship between the distribution of the main taxa and the environment. Our main observations are as follows:(1) in the Makarov Basin, the polar species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma(sinistral coiling) dominates the [150 lm planktonic foraminiferal assemblages.(2) The planktonic foraminifers live mainly in the upper halocline at a water depth of 50–100 m and less in the depth interval of 100–200 m.(3) Temperature change in the halocline can affect the absolute abundance of planktonic foraminifers and their distribution in the water column. The warmer halocline is more favorable to the development of planktonic foraminifers.(4) A lighter d18O value(2.11 %) of N. pachyderma(sin.) is recorded in the depth interval of 100–200 m, which is likely related to the isotopically light brines separated out during sea ice freezing. The relatively heavy d18O value(1.68 %–2.68 %, average 2.27 %) in the depth interval of 50–100 m may be influenced by the low salinity water with the relatively heavy d18O value formed during the sea-ice melting in the surface layer.     

Non-CO2 greenhouse gases and climate change

Earth's climate is warming as a result of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO(2)) from fossil fuel combustion. Anthropogenic emissions of non-CO(2) greenhouse gases, such as methane, nitrous oxide and ozone-depleting substances (largely from sources other than fossil fuels), also contribute significantly to warming. Some non-CO(2) greenhouse gases have much shorter lifetimes than CO(2), so reducing their emissions offers an additional opportunity to lessen future climate change. Although it is clear that sustainably reducing the warming influence of greenhouse gases will be possible only with substantial cuts in emissions of CO(2), reducing non-CO(2) greenhouse gas emissions would be a relatively quick way of contributing to this goal.     

北极熊毛纤维的膜结构

北极熊具有在寒冷的北极地区生存下去的特殊能力．和其他的许多耐寒动物一样，北极熊的毛发对其身体的保暖起着极为重要的作用．本文分别采用光学显微镜、扫描电子显微镜、场发射扫描电子显微镜和透射电子显微镜研究了北极熊毛发的形态和结构．研究结果表明，北极熊毛纤维具有独特的膜一孔结构，该结构应该对北极熊毛的热传递过程有着关键的影响．     

城市温室气体清单编制与分析——以天津为例

为分析城市温室气体减排潜力提供基本方法和数据,以天津市为例,把温室气体排放源分为能源活动、工业生产、农业和废物等4个单元,提供了一套城市温室气体清单编制方法,并对城市主要碳源和碳强度进行分析．结果表明：如果天津市经济和温室气体排放维持近10年的平均增长速度,或可达到国务院提出的“十二五”减排目标;但由于诸多不确定性因素的存在,要实现减排目标还需挖掘减排潜力;天津能源消耗产生的温室气体占总排放量的72．2％,而按行业计算,工业产生的温室气体占总排量的77．9％．因此对主要工业碳源推行试点碳审计,制定行业碳排放标准,提高能源效率,降低能耗,是温室气体减排的关键因素．     

铁矿烧结工艺中温室气体CO2的排放规律

采用KM9106综合烟气分析仪对烧结工艺过程温室气体Cox排放规律进行研究. 研究结果表明: 在烧结过程中, 温室气体Cox排放变化情况能够很好地反映烧结过程固体燃料焦粉的燃烧状况, 证明烧结过程焦粉的燃烧是以生成CO2的完全燃烧反应为主, 但仍有部分生成CO的未完全燃烧反应存在;烧结烟气中CO2浓度降为零时所对应的点与烧结废气温度为最大值有很好的对应关系, 能很好地用于确定烧结终点;焦粉配比对烧结过程固体燃料燃烧的影响能明确地从温室气体Cox的排放情况表现出来, 而且, 通过判断燃料燃烧状况, 可以推测出烧结矿产质量的优劣, 用于指导烧结生产.     

Ecology: widespread colonization by polar hypoliths

High-latitude polar deserts are among the most extreme environments on Earth. Here we describe a large and previously unappreciated habitat for photosynthetic life under opaque rocks in the Arctic and Antarctic polar deserts. This habitat is created by the periglacial movement of the rocks, which allows some light to reach their underside. The productivity of this ecosystem is at least as great as that of above-ground biomass and potentially doubles previous productivity estimates for the polar desert ecozone.     

High interannual variability of sea ice thickness in the Arctic region

Possible future changes in Arctic sea ice cover and thickness, and consequent changes in the ice-albedo feedback, represent one of the largest uncertainties in the prediction of future temperature rise. Knowledge of the natural variability of sea ice thickness is therefore critical for its representation in global climate models. Numerical simulations suggest that Arctic ice thickness varies primarily on decadal timescales owing to changes in wind and ocean stresses on the ice, but observations have been unable to provide a synoptic view of sea ice thickness, which is required to validate the model results. Here we use an eight-year time-series of Arctic ice thickness, derived from satellite altimeter measurements of ice freeboard, to determine the mean thickness field and its variability from 65 degrees N to 81.5 degrees N. Our data reveal a high-frequency interannual variability in mean Arctic ice thickness that is dominated by changes in the amount of summer melt, rather than by changes in circulation. Our results suggest that a continued increase in melt season length would lead to further thinning of Arctic sea ice.     

Arctic warming aloft is data set dependent

Arctic sea ice and snow on land have retreated polewards at an alarming pace in the past few decades. Such retreat locally amplifies surface warming through a positive feedback, which causes the Arctic surface to warm faster than the rest of the globe. In contrast, ice and snow retreat causes little warming in the atmosphere above when the stable winter atmosphere inhibits vertical heat exchange. We therefore find surprising the recent report by Graversen et al. in which they claim that recent Arctic atmospheric warming extends far deeper into the atmosphere than expected, and can even exceed the surface warming during the polar night. Using a different data set, we show that there is much less warming aloft in winter, consistent with the recent retreat of ice and snow, as well as recent changes in atmospheric heat transport.     

垃圾填埋场的温室气体控制

垃圾填埋场是温室气体产生的一个重要来源,有资料表明美国的填埋场温室气体排放占了所有温室气体排放总量的40％－50％,笔者分析计算了填埋场的温室气体产量,气体产生的主要垃圾成分;提出了减少温室气体排的几个途径,并指出今后的研究方向。     

四川省农业温室气体排放清单核算

随着气候问题日益严峻,温室气体（GHG）排放清单编制已经成为温室气体研究的一项重要的基础工作。本文根据《2006年IPCC温室气体排放清单指南》的基本方法,核算了四川省农林和其他土地利用部门温室气体排放清单,其主要统计CO2、N2O和CH4三种温室气体。     

正义视域下温室气体减排国际义务分配标准评析

如何分配温室气体减排国际义务是国际气候谈判争论的焦点,对温室气体排放和减排义务的分配标准不能达成一致是问题的关键所在。文章首先分析了目前国际社会认定温室气体排放权和分配减排义务的标准,然后对这些标准从正义的角度进行了客观的评价,最后就中国在国际气候谈判中可采取的立场和对策提出了建议。