Contribution of anthropogenic and natural sources to atmospheric methane variability

Methane is an important greenhouse gas, and its atmospheric concentration has nearly tripled since pre-industrial times. The growth rate of atmospheric methane is determined by the balance between surface emissions and photochemical destruction by the hydroxyl radical, the major atmospheric oxidant. Remarkably, this growth rate has decreased markedly since the early 1990s, and the level of methane has remained relatively constant since 1999, leading to a downward revision of its projected influence on global temperatures. Large fluctuations in the growth rate of atmospheric methane are also observed from one year to the next, but their causes remain uncertain. Here we quantify the processes that controlled variations in methane emissions between 1984 and 2003 using an inversion model of atmospheric transport and chemistry. Our results indicate that wetland emissions dominated the inter-annual variability of methane sources, whereas fire emissions played a smaller role, except during the 1997-1998 El Ni?o event. These top-down estimates of changes in wetland and fire emissions are in good agreement with independent estimates based on remote sensing information and biogeochemical models. On longer timescales, our results show that the decrease in atmospheric methane growth during the 1990s was caused by a decline in anthropogenic emissions. Since 1999, however, they indicate that anthropogenic emissions of methane have risen again. The effect of this increase on the growth rate of atmospheric methane has been masked by a coincident decrease in wetland emissions, but atmospheric methane levels may increase in the near future if wetland emissions return to their mean 1990s levels.     

Ultraviolet-radiation-induced methane emissions from meteorites and the Martian atmosphere

Almost a decade after methane was first reported in the atmosphere of Mars there is an intensive discussion about both the reliability of the observations--particularly the suggested seasonal and latitudinal variations--and the sources of methane on Mars. Given that the lifetime of methane in the Martian atmosphere is limited, a process on or below the planet's surface would need to be continuously producing methane. A biological source would provide support for the potential existence of life on Mars, whereas a chemical origin would imply that there are unexpected geological processes. Methane release from carbonaceous meteorites associated with ablation during atmospheric entry is considered negligible. Here we show that methane is produced in much larger quantities from the Murchison meteorite (a type CM2 carbonaceous chondrite) when exposed to ultraviolet radiation under conditions similar to those expected at the Martian surface. Meteorites containing several per cent of intact organic matter reach the Martian surface at high rates, and our experiments suggest that a significant fraction of the organic matter accessible to ultraviolet radiation is converted to methane. Ultraviolet-radiation-induced methane formation from meteorites could explain a substantial fraction of the most recently estimated atmospheric methane mixing ratios. Stable hydrogen isotope analysis unambiguously confirms that the methane released from Murchison is of extraterrestrial origin. The stable carbon isotope composition, in contrast, is similar to that of terrestrial microbial origin; hence, measurements of this signature in future Mars missions may not enable an unambiguous identification of biogenic methane.     

天津市机动车排放清单及影响要素研究

为掌握天津市机动车排放现状和各因素对排放的定量影响,该文在对天津市机动车类型分布、技术水平、行驶状况和启动信息进行数据采集的基础上,运用国际机动车排放(IVE)模型,建立起天津市机动车排放清单.结果发现: 天津市机动车NOx等污染物排放存在3个峰值时间,高峰期排放占排放总量的52%～55%;无催化器车辆占各种污染物排放总量的60%～95%;居民路的交通状况对于排放的影响最为不利,这些因素应该成为天津市机动车排放控制的重点.     

长江中游天鹅洲沉积物重金属元素记录对流域人类活动的响应

利用2007年4月采集于天鹅洲长江故道柱状沉积物中过剩210Pb深度—活度的分布规律及柱样的沉积学特征结合沉积事件记录进行定年,并通过ICP-AES、ICP-MS测定了沉积物中元素含量,包括K、Ca、Na、Mg、Al、Fe、Mn、Ti、Cr、Cd、V、Zn、Pb、Cu、Ni、Co、Cs、U、Ga、Ba、Sr,重建了50年以来长江中游元素地球化学记录的演变过程.通过重金属元素含量以及重金属标准化比值表明,天鹅洲长江故道沉积物剖面与长江河道变迁及流域人类活动具有很好的相关性:1950～1990年,处于工业化前期,沉积物重金属元素含量变化幅度较小,主要受物源和沉积环境等自然因素控制;1990～2007年,流域工业化进程加快,人类活动带来的污染增多,同时流域水利工程的兴修,使得来沙量降低,河流自净能力减弱,沉积物重金属含量显著提高.环境问题日益显著,亟需环境学者密切关注.     

Relative contribution of the anthropogenic forcing and natural variability to the interdecadal shift of climate during the late 1970s and 1990s

Global warming accelerated after the late 1970s and slowed down after the late 1990s, accompanying the significant interdecadal changes in the regional climate. We hypothesized that the interdecadal changes linearly consisted of two independent components, anthropogenic forcing and natural decadal variability, which can be represented simply by the radiative forcing effect of carbon dioxide \((\text{RF}_{\text {CO}_2})\) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), respectively. The combined effect of the \(\text{RF}_{\text {CO}_2}\) and PDO could explain the majority of the surface temperature changes during the late 1970s and 1990s, but the magnitudes of the relative contribution of the \(\text{RF}_{\text {CO}_2}\) and the PDO are inconsistent in different regions. For both the surface temperature and geopotential height, the \(\text{RF}_{\text {CO}_2}\) could induce significantly positive anomalies over almost the entire globe for these two shifts, exhibiting a larger magnitude in the mid–high latitudes and in the late 1990s shift. The PDO could induce opposite anomalies for the two interdecadal shifts due to its phase transitions (negative-positive–negative). Furthermore, for the shift in the late 1970s, both the \(\text{RF}_{\text {CO}_2}\) (53.7 %–66.7 %) and the PDO (33.3 %–46.3 %) were important in regulating the tropical geopotential height, whereas the \(\text{RF}_{\text {CO}_2}\) dominated the changes in the mid-latitudes. For the western Pacific subtropical high, the \(\text{RF}_{\text {CO}_2}\) (PDO) could explain 52.3 %–62.1 % (37.9 %–47.7 %) of the change. The negative effect of the PDO counteracted most of the \(\text{RF}_{\text {CO}_2}\) effects for the late 1990s shift.     

天然气再燃过程与排放特性数值研究

应用CFD计算软件FLUENT6.1,对煤粉炉天然气再燃烧过程进行了数值模拟.分析了不同再燃烧工况下,NOx、CO2、CO等污染物的排放量及飞灰含碳量与煤粉炉热效率之间的关系.结果表明,天然气再燃技术能够有效地降低NOx的排放量,且燃料燃烧充分,煤粉炉热效率较高.给出了在保证煤粉炉较高热效率前提下,有效降低NOx排放的天然气再燃量、天然气投射位置以及再燃烧区过量空气系数.NOx排放浓度的计算值与试验值的变化趋势基本保持一致,表明计算方法可用于工程实际.对现有锅炉进行一定的结构改造,通过天然气再燃可达到高效降低NOx排放的目的.     

Mapping anthropogenic emissions in China at 1 km spatial resolution and its application in air quality modeling

New challenges are emerging in fine-scale air quality modeling in China due to a lack of high-resolution emission maps.Currently,only a few emission sources hav...     

粉煤灰对钝化污泥重金属有效性影响

通过添加不同比例的粉煤灰对城市生活污泥进行钝化,系统的研究了粉煤灰对钝化污泥中金属元素Cd、Pb、Cu、Zn、Ni、Cr、Mn、Fe含量及其有效化的影响.结果表明:粉煤灰对污泥中有效态Cd、Pb、Ni、Cr、Mn、Fe具有钝化作用,其中对Cd和Fe的钝化效果最明显;但对Cu却有促进其向有效态转化的作用;总体上看钝化污泥人工土壤中重金属含量符合国家农用标准,而其中有效态Cd、Pb、Ni、Cr的含量均远远低于对植物体造成毒害的临界水平.     

Quantitative assessment of worldwide contamination of air, water and soils by trace metals

Calculated loading rates of trace metals into the three environmental compartments demonstrate that human activities now have major impacts on the global and regional cycles of most of the trace elements. There is significant contamination of freshwater resources and an accelerating accumulation of toxic metals in the human food chain.     

Attributing physical and biological impacts to anthropogenic climate change

Significant changes in physical and biological systems are occurring on all continents and in most oceans, with a concentration of available data in Europe and North America. Most of these changes are in the direction expected with warming temperature. Here we show that these changes in natural systems since at least 1970 are occurring in regions of observed temperature increases, and that these temperature increases at continental scales cannot be explained by natural climate variations alone. Given the conclusions from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report that most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-twentieth century is very likely to be due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations, and furthermore that it is likely that there has been significant anthropogenic warming over the past 50 years averaged over each continent except Antarctica, we conclude that anthropogenic climate change is having a significant impact on physical and biological systems globally and in some continents.     

校园空气微生物时空分布特征及与人群活动的关系

对空气微生物含量及其变化规律进行研究在空气环境质量监测上具有重要意义。将实验教学内容与实际环境问题相结合,指导学生进行全年校园空气微生物质量监测并对空气微生物与人群活动关系及时空分布特征进行了分析评价。研究表明,人群活动是对空气微生物影响较大的环境因子(p0.001),季节变化没有显著性差异(p0.05)。校园空气微生物主要以细菌为主(73.27%),其次为真菌(26.73%)。校园中78%的功能区属于清洁和较清洁,22%属于轻微污染,说明校园的总体环境质量相对较好。     

D to H ratio and the origin and evolution of Titan's atmosphere

A value of 1.7 x 10(-3) has been reported for the ratio of CH3D to CH4 in the stratosphere of the saturnian moon Titan. A lower value of 6 x 10(-4) for this ratio in the deeper part of Titan's atmosphere was reported by de Bergh et al. For comparison we note that the CH3D to CH4 ratio on Saturn and Jupiter is 8.7 x 10(-5) and 6.7 x 10(-5), respectively. We estimate the uncertainties in all these observations and data reduction to be about a factor of 2. Despite these uncertainties it appears that Titan's atmosphere is enriched in deuterium by a factor of > or = 3 relative to Jupiter and Saturn. Potential causative factors examined here for this enrichment are condensation to form tropospheric methane clouds, fractionation occurring over a hypothetical CH4-C2H6 ocean and between the ocean and the clathrate crust beneath, fractionation which occurred during the formation of Titan and fractionation occurring as a result of the evolution of Titan's atmosphere. We conclude that the greater part of the observed fractionation is probably derived from the formation of Titan and the subsequent evolution of Titan's atmosphere driven by photochemistry.     

六钛酸钾晶须预分离/富集ICP-AES法测定工业废水中Co（Ⅱ），Ni（Ⅱ）和Cr（Ⅲ）

以电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)为检测手段,系统研究新型吸附剂六钛酸钾晶须对Co(Ⅱ),Ni(Ⅱ)和Cr(Ⅲ)的吸附行为以及解吸的主要因素,并考察共存离子的干扰情况.研究结果表明:在pH值为7.0,振荡时间为5 min,静置时间为30 min时,吸附率可达到95%以上;以10 mL 3 mol/L HCl作为解脱剂,振荡5 min,静置40 min,可将吸附在六钛酸钾晶须上的Co(Ⅱ),Ni(Ⅱ)和Cr(Ⅲ)定量洗脱.本法测定Co(Ⅱ),Ni(Ⅱ)和Cr(Ⅲ)的检出限分别为:0.009 2,0.005 3和0.008 9 mg/L,相对标准偏差(RSD)为0.98%,0.75%和0.87%.在优化的实验条件下,将其用于磷化废水中Co(Ⅱ),Ni(Ⅱ)和Cr(Ⅲ)含量的测定,加标回收率为90%～102%.     

Stream denitrification across biomes and its response to anthropogenic nitrate loading

Anthropogenic addition of bioavailable nitrogen to the biosphere is increasing and terrestrial ecosystems are becoming increasingly nitrogen-saturated, causing more bioavailable nitrogen to enter groundwater and surface waters. Large-scale nitrogen budgets show that an average of about 20-25 per cent of the nitrogen added to the biosphere is exported from rivers to the ocean or inland basins, indicating that substantial sinks for nitrogen must exist in the landscape. Streams and rivers may themselves be important sinks for bioavailable nitrogen owing to their hydrological connections with terrestrial systems, high rates of biological activity, and streambed sediment environments that favour microbial denitrification. Here we present data from nitrogen stable isotope tracer experiments across 72 streams and 8 regions representing several biomes. We show that total biotic uptake and denitrification of nitrate increase with stream nitrate concentration, but that the efficiency of biotic uptake and denitrification declines as concentration increases, reducing the proportion of in-stream nitrate that is removed from transport. Our data suggest that the total uptake of nitrate is related to ecosystem photosynthesis and that denitrification is related to ecosystem respiration. In addition, we use a stream network model to demonstrate that excess nitrate in streams elicits a disproportionate increase in the fraction of nitrate that is exported to receiving waters and reduces the relative role of small versus large streams as nitrate sinks.     

关于求解全局优化的途径:从局部到全局

在实际应用中常常要求求解全局优化问题, 而用有效的求解全局优化问题是非常困难的.填充函数方法和打洞函数方法是两种全局优化的函数变换方法,有关文献的计算说明这些方法是有效的.本文将给出这两种全局优化方法最近的发展.首先分析原先由葛仁溥提出的填充函数和Levy与Montalvo提出的打洞函数方法的缺点.其次给出在箱子集或者全空间上无约束或者不等式约束的全局优化问题的单参数的新填充函数和变形打洞函数的定义,并构造出相应的填充函数和变形打洞函数.此外亦讨论整数全局优化问题的填充函数和变形打洞函数方法.最近还讨论了全空间上等式约束全局优化问题.最后给出综述,指出非线性规划的一个主要发展方向:混合整数非线性规划,给出用填充函数和变形打洞函数的求解途径.     

Weakening of tropical Pacific atmospheric circulation due to anthropogenic forcing

Since the mid-nineteenth century the Earth's surface has warmed, and models indicate that human activities have caused part of the warming by altering the radiative balance of the atmosphere. Simple theories suggest that global warming will reduce the strength of the mean tropical atmospheric circulation. An important aspect of this tropical circulation is a large-scale zonal (east-west) overturning of air across the equatorial Pacific Ocean--driven by convection to the west and subsidence to the east--known as the Walker circulation. Here we explore changes in tropical Pacific circulation since the mid-nineteenth century using observations and a suite of global climate model experiments. Observed Indo-Pacific sea level pressure reveals a weakening of the Walker circulation. The size of this trend is consistent with theoretical predictions, is accurately reproduced by climate model simulations and, within the climate models, is largely due to anthropogenic forcing. The climate model indicates that the weakened surface winds have altered the thermal structure and circulation of the tropical Pacific Ocean. These results support model projections of further weakening of tropical atmospheric circulation during the twenty-first century.     

Evolution of the atmosphere and oceans

The residence times of most constituents of the atmosphere and oceans are small fractions of the age of the Earth and, in general, their rate of output has been nearly equal to their rate of input. We are disturbing a number of these dynamic equilibria quite severely. The mineralogy of marine evaporites rules out drastic changes in the composition of sea water during the last 900 Myr. The chemistry of soils formed more than 1,000 Myr ago suggests that the atmosphere then contained significantly more CO2 and less O2 than at present. Hydrogen peroxide may well have been the principal oxidant and formaldehyde the main reductant in rain water between 3,000 and 1,000 Myr ago. Major changes in atmospheric chemistry since that time are almost certainly related to the evolution of the biosphere.     

Global inventory of Helium-3 in lunar regoliths estimated by a multi-channel microwave radiometer on the Chang-E 1 lunar satellite

Helium-3 (³He) implanted by solar wind in the lunar regolith is a valuable resource because of its potential as a fusion fuel. On the basis of the Apollo regolith samples, a linear relationship between ³He abundance and solar wind flux, optical maturity and TiO₂ content has been presented. China successfully launched its first lunar exploration satellite Chang-E 1 (CE-1) on October 24, 2007. A multi-channeled microwave radiometer was aboard the satellite with the purpose of measuring microwave thermal emission from the lunar surface layer. From the multi-channel brightness temperature (T_b) observed by CE-1, the global distribution of the regolith thickness was inverted from the multi-channel T_b, and was used to evaluate the total amount of ³He per unit area in the lunar regolith. The global inventory of ³He was estimated as being 6.6×10⁸ kg; 3.7×10⁸ kg for the lunar nearside and 2.9×10⁸ kg for the lunar farside.